


The Suns of Gunshots

by OhRiena



Category: The Purge (Movies), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Bromance, Death, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gore, Movie: The Purge (2013), Multi, Violence, vigilantes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2018-12-29 16:24:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 37,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12088800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhRiena/pseuds/OhRiena
Summary: I was supposed to be home in the bunker, safe, hiding away until morning, but instead I found myself caught on the streets as the siren for the annual Purge began. I had no choice but to run, knowing full well that once the earth fell quiet again, all hell would break loose and I would be caught in the middle of it. What I wasn't expecting was to get swept up by a group of vigilantes that would get me through a long night of death and destruction.





	1. Chapter One

The sirens blared from left and right, echoing off the brick buildings, turning the night from calm to panic in a hurry. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I was supposed to be home in the bunker, safe, hiding away until morning, but instead I found myself caught on the streets as the annual Purge began. I had no choice but to run, knowing full well that once the earth fell quiet again, all hell would break loose and I would be caught in the middle of it. Where could I go, though? My home was a fifteen minute walk at best, and all transportation had ceased for the night, for glaringly obvious reasons.

By no means would I call myself weak. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not strong either, but I can hold my own once adrenaline kicks in. Just three years ago, in high school, I’d ended up in a fight with a boy from my class when he’d tried to yank my backpack from my body. I wouldn’t say he left worse for wear, but I’d at least managed a few good kicks to the groin before I escaped. The purge was different though. Weapons of all sorts made appearances. No one could out run a gun, no one would slide easily away from a knife to the throat, not to mention most of those participating weren’t exactly merciful to their prey.

All the same, I couldn’t very well stay here on the street. My best chance at surviving the night, was to wiggle my way through the back roads, the dark allies that would hopefully be empty and void of human life, though the thought of what could be waiting in the dark was even more frightening.

I swallowed my pride and took off at a run. The night air tickled my cheeks as my hair flapped against my face. Every now and then, my wild eyes would glance back and around, looking for any signs of danger, but the sirens hadn’t ended yet. For a moment, I thought perhaps I could make it home, or somewhere safe. A shelter of some sort. Surely they wouldn’t close the doors until the sirens stopped. Surely they would let me in.

But I wasn’t fast enough.

I’d managed to make it just a couple blocks from the store where I worked when the world went still. My body followed, stopping and standing as still as possible, as if I was merely a statue on the walk. The slightest sounds made my head snap left, right, behind, but the sounds of gunshots, followed by hoots and hollers had my heart hammering in my chest. I had to move and quick.

I could hear someone closing in and quickly, most likely on some form of transportation, and when I saw the headlights getting ready to round the corner, I knew I was done for. I couldn’t outrun a car, even if I wanted to, that would be out of question. That didn’t mean I had to give up though. Just as the headlights caught a quick flash of my body, I ducked into a dark alley, crouching down low and biting my knuckles to keep myself from crying out in fear.

My body trembled and my mind swirled. I thought of all the things I hadn’t done with my life, how I didn’t have my dream career yet, how I hadn’t told my mother I loved her recently, how I needed to be there for my sister’s wedding in a few months. If there was a god above, I was saying every possible prayer of forgiveness and begging for mercy, asking for a savior as the vehicle came to a stop near the alley and the sounds of feet jumping out caught my attention.

“Where’d you go little lady? Know you’re around here somewhere!” came the sound of a greasy voice, eager for blood to meet the earth.

“Come on out and play, suga! It’ll be fun! We’ll even let you get a head start!”

My skin crawled as I conjured up all the ways these people could kill me, and hoped they would choose the fastest one. With this as my last thought, I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around my knees, and pressed against the cold brick wall, as if it could provide me some safety and reassurance that I would survive this, but it didn’t. I knew I couldn’t melt into the wall, couldn’t even blend in with it in my white shirt, but I was going to try. I was unsure exactly how it happened, but last I’d checked, walls didn’t grow arms and hands, but a pair were around me and a hand was clasped against my mouth. My surprised gasp was lost in the palm of a hand I couldn’t place, and my back was met by the steady, calm rhythm of a heart beating in someone else’s chest. This was where it all ended, I thought to myself. A knife would find my throat, a gun would be pressed into my back. This was the way the purge worked. No mercy.

“Ah! There you are! And look, Shaun! She’s got herself a friend too!”

A man followed the voice of the woman who held the long machete knife in her hand. Their eyes glistened with glee at the sight of not one, but two bodies fresh for the picking. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, one falling down my cheek followed by the other, but I couldn’t beg for my life with a hand across my mouth, and even if I was free to talk, why would these two possibly show me any mercy on a night like this? Not only that, but why was I still alive to witness any of this, when whoever this mystery person around me was could have ended it already.

“Please! Don’t hurt us!” came a shaking male voice from behind me. It seemed odd, the way his voice shook with fear, when his body was still and his heart not pounding through his chest like mine was.

As I pondered this brief thought, something strange happened. The two began to close the distance between us, but as they moved I felt the arm around me slip up and something cold brush against my skin. Before I had time to realize a gun had appeared, the air beside me buzzed and the woman who had been nearing faster than I had first thought fell to the ground, a long, thin arrow protruding from her chest. A gunshot quickly followed her collapse and the man named Shaun joined her on the ground, their blood joining together to pool around their bodies.

It was then, I realized I had been released and through the ringing in my ears I could make out gargled words of conversation. With tears still in my eyes, I glanced up to see two familiar men speaking to one another.

“You must have been itching to let that one fly.”

“Well, she did ask for me to come out and play. I was only doing what she wanted.”

The last to speak reached toward the woman’s body and ripped the arrow from her core, pulling out an old rag to try and wipe the blood from the weapon before returning it to the rest. Our eyes met and I felt my jaw slacken as I tried to get words out of my mouth. “Y-Y-Yoongi?”

Just that morning I’d been sitting near him in our university history class. His gang of rowdy friends and I conversed often and compared notes, had study dates in the library before we were kicked out. I was friends with them, friends with him! He was always so quiet and usually kind when we spoke. How was it possible that he was a cold blooded killer?

“Come on. We’ll get you somewhere safe.”

I felt a pair of arms tugging me up from behind, but not those of the man whose name I’d spoken. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, my arms went into action, pushing and flailing to get away from those that were apparently trying to help me.

“Stop!” I screamed, a little too loud.

“Fuck sake! Keep it down or you’ll attract more of them!” Yoongi snapped, his brows furrowing in concern.

I backed against the wall once more as the other man, the one who had kept me silent, emerged from behind.

“It’s okay! We’re not going to hurt you, but we need to leave before someone else shows up.”

“J-Jimin?!” Shock took over my body as my friend came into view. No wonder I’d recognized his voice and his silhouette moments before. Just this morning we’d had a conversation about nothing in particular before class started, had shared jokes and laughed a bit.

“Listen, we don’t have time to explain right now, but come with us. We have to get the others, but once we’re somewhere safe, we’ll explain everything, okay?” Jimin’s voice was calm, sincere. It told me I had no reason not to believe him, but he’d just shot a man, on purge night. What if this was some elaborate scheme to lure me into a group kill? What if the others he’d mentioned were waiting for me at the end of the alley with some nicely set trap?

I opened my mouth to argue, to tell them to let me go and that I could fend for myself, an obvious lie, when Yoongi beat me to the punch. “Trust us. If we wanted to kill you, you would be dead right now.”

My eyes bore into him, trying to reach his soul to figure out if he was being truthful, or if he was just looking for a game, but it didn’t seem like him to mess around. Regardless of the murder they’d committed, they had saved me, and he was right. I was still alive. If I went off on my own, I was as good as dead in the next five minutes, but with them, it seemed like I would have some sort of chance at life.

As if he’d picked up on my decision, Jimin reached out and gently took my hand, guiding me down the alley, but not before I saw Yoongi’s jaw twitch at the action. I didn’t understand his anger, I hadn’t done anything wrong. I hadn’t asked for them to save me, I hadn’t asked for them to drag me along on whatever excursion this was. This night was no game to me. People were dying and for what reason? To keep the world from being over populated? It was disgusting and cruel and undeserved. It wasn’t my fault that the two just happened to show up out of nowhere at the right time. Part of me longed to spit my thoughts out at him, to tell him to get over himself or just let me die already, but I didn’t get the chance.

Jimin came to a stop, pulling me in behind him and raising a finger to his puckered lips, indicating we should be quiet. I could feel Yoongi slip up behind me, glancing over his own shoulder to make sure we weren’t being tailed like a sick game of cat and mouse. With his hand still clasped around my fingers, Jimin carefully poked his head around the corner, looking up and down the narrow street we’d arrived at, a one way with only enough room for one vehicle at a time to pass by. What I hadn’t noticed before, was the faint sound of what sounded like people shuffling around just beyond the wall beside us.

Yet, he seemed unconcerned as he looked back at the two of us and nodded his head to keep moving and I soon understood why.

“[Reader]!” the voice softly cheered as I found myself swept up in a pair of strong arms. How strange it was to hear a voice I felt so used to hearing fill hallways, trying to muffle itself now on the deadliest night to be outdoors.

“Back off. She nearly got herself and us killed. Give her room to breathe,” Yoongi snapped, pulling Taehyung away from me by the collar.

“I’m just showing her that I’m glad she’s alive! God, why are you such a stiff?” he huffed as he straightened out his jacket.

“Well you’re all alive and fine for now, so let’s get moving,” I heard a voice call out nearby and turned to see Seokjin waving us over. The back doors to a black van sat open and inside the rest of the familiar gang crouched, waiting for us to go over. Jungkook waved from the far back with a gentle, crooked smile. Hobi leaned against the door frame and threw me a wink, as he usually did. Namjoon stood just outside the van, a lollipop stick cozied up in the corner of his mouth as he watched the street. I was greeted by the familiar faces in a quick manner, as Taehyung reached out to help me into the back of the vehicle, but was quickly stopped by a pale hand around his arm.

“Nuh uh. She’s going with me. We’ll get there faster and if trouble crops up, it’ll be better if you’re not all distracted by trying to keep a damsel from being in distress.”

I looked up at Yoongi, a bit angered and belittled by his words, but curious all the same. If we weren’t going to be going in the van, how would we get to wherever the hell they were planning on taking me? All over again, the fears and doubts rushed through my mind one by one. They were taking me to some secret dungeon to torture me, I was sure of it.

“I’ll go too. You don’t mind trading, Namjoon?” I looked from Jimin to the other quickly and curiously. To say I was a bit relieved when the older agreed to the supposed trade off so Jimin would tag along was an understatement.

“You gotta start using the code names, kid,” Namjoon mumbled as he shook his head and climbed into the van with the others.

“Fine, but she’s riding with me,” Yoongi spit out, ignoring the brief conversation the other two had been having.

I felt my arm being tugged away from the van as Taehyung waved with a reassuring smile and the door slammed shut. The engine roared to life and the driver window rolled down, Seokjin’s head appearing from within as we walked away. “Be careful, see you there.”

It was the last we heard before the engine was revved up and the van pulled away from the street. The three of us were once again alone and quiet as we walked further down the street, turning into a small dead end alley where two motorbikes sat waiting. Jimin approached the red one as Yoongi tugged me to the white one. I glanced over at my good friend, hoping he would insist that I ride with him, but instead, he slipped onto the bike without a word and brought it to life.

With no choice left, I slipped my leg around the other bike and wrapped my arms around Yoongi’s waist. I was taken aback at how slender, but strong he was, and could feel my cheeks flush just slightly. Never before had I been thankful for the darkness of night as I held onto him and prayed for this night to end soon.

Unfortunately, it was only just beginning.


	2. Chapter Two

The two bikes pulled slowly out of the dead end alley, the heads of their drivers twisting left and right, looking up and down the one way street to see that it was clear. With my arms wrapped tightly around Yoongi’s waist, as I too peered around the newly abandoned street. Just moments ago, a large black van with five young men I attend university with had sat near the end of the road. Now, nothing but a chilling breeze met us. The only sign that life had recently vacated the street remained in the form of the small pool of liquid on the asphalt from the van. I could still hear Jin’s words echoing back at us. “Be careful. See you there,” they’d whispered in a caring manner.

I still didn’t know exactly where there was. The loop these men had did not include me in it, and that frightened me. I wanted to trust them. After all, we were all friends, spent time together, but no one was telling me anything. I didn’t know why I was still alive, I didn’t know where they were taking me, or why they’d even had the heart to protect me like this. I hadn’t asked them to put their lives in danger for me, and sure, some would say it’s what friends would do. Purge night changed everything, though. Friend turned on friend, family on family. This was the one night a year you found out where loyalties rested within others. Some people were hardcore for the Purge, and if you weren’t, that put you on their list. Others kept to themselves on the night, locking themselves away in their safe rooms, while others still cared enough to extend a helping hand to those in need.

Every bone within me wanted to believe that’s what my friends were doing now, helping me because they cared. They’d never been malicious people before. Sure, they punched each other’s arms and when one did something wrong, they had no problem letting him know, but they seemed to genuinely love each other and other people, for the most part. I could still remember the way Taehyung’s arms had wrapped around me and he seemed genuinely thrilled to see I was alive. Surely that had to say something, right?

Then again, the small, pessimistic part of my mind said they were planning on taking me somewhere to torture me. I’d heard horror stories about people being tortured, experiencing a slow death on Purge night. Though, it was hard to really know the truth, since the people sharing the stories were still alive. Regardless, I still wasn’t sure I could fully trust them, even if my feelings told me I should.

That’s what made this whole situation more awkward than it should have been, my feelings. I hadn’t told anyone, not even my best friend, but I’d been denying my growing feelings for the man I wrapped my arms around. I don’t know what it was about him that first lured me in. There was something about his eyes, something that said he’d seen things, experienced things that had hurt his soul more than anyone could fathom. Perhaps it was his grumpy nature, the way it made me smile at times, because it would lead to him snapping at one of the younger boys when they were goofing off too much at study group. Whatever it was, the butterflies in my stomach couldn’t have been worse with their timing. My life was on the line. This wasn’t exactly the right time to be getting giddy because I was pressed up against my crush.

The bikes inched forward slowly and as quietly as they could as we grew nearer to the mouth of the road. Jimin pulled ahead, once again leading the way and making sure it was clear of immediate signs of danger. I watched as his head turned, first scanning the street, then looking up at the buildings, checking that windows and doors looked clear. The two men’s gazes met and they seemed to share a silent conversation before Yoongi shook his head. “It’s too dangerous,” he mumbled at the other.

“It’s the best option we have. We’ll be less noticeable going that way. We passed by earlier when we were coming this way and the place is dead, pitch black. It’s better that we’re off the streets and the trees will keep larger vehicles from following us. We have to go that way.”

I looked between the two, wondering what way they were speaking of. It didn’t exactly sound like an ideal path to take, what with the pitch blackness and the supposed trees within it. It almost sounded like we would be rolling through a forest in the middle of the city, which was totally ridiculous.

Or so I thought until we pulled up to one of the entrances of the park in the center of the city. Jimin was right. There were no path lights on to light up the sidewalks like usual. There were no couples strolling by holding hands and occasionally giving each other a peck on the lips. The sounds of children playing were simply ghost echoes in my mind as my eyes stared into the darkness. My body shivered in fear and my arms subconsciously wrapped tighter around Yoongi’s waist as I stared through the gates.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, Chim,” he murmured just above a whisper. My gaze lingered on the back of his head, wondering if it was my sudden grasp of his body that had made him speak the words, but he didn’t acknowledge me, simply continued to stare at Jimin’s face as we idled there.

“We’ll be okay. We’re here now, we may as well tread forward. Just keep your lights off and stick to the path. We’ll be out in five minutes tops if we steer right.”

I swallowed a lump forming in my throat and leaned away from Yoongi as he reached for the weapons on his back. He pulled the bow from his shoulders and his gaze peered over it at me. “Know how to shoot?”

Truthfully, I didn’t, but fear had made me believe I could do anything as I nodded my head. The weapon was passed into my hands, freeing up his back as one of my arms wrapped back around to hold on, while the other cradled the bow. I silently prayed I wouldn’t be forced to learn how to shoot and that our lives wouldn’t rely on me, because we would certainly be doomed in that case, but what could I do now? I’d already said I could do it. I couldn’t just back out of it.

With a hesitant sigh, Yoongi pulled forward, following behind Jimin. We started out slow, rolling through and listening for any signs of life, but all we were met with were the sighs of the trees. Even the animals that usually scurried to and fro were out of sight, protecting themselves from those who thirsted for blood. As we wheeled our way forward, our eyes adjusted and the familiar path ahead became more visible, allowing the two men to speed up as we wove around the park, seeking out the other side.

I glanced down at my watch, lit up gently in the darkness. We had to be getting close to the other side by now. Jimin had said it would take five minutes, and it’d already been three and a half. Surely any moment we would start to see the familiar glow of the street lights and be on our way full force once again. I glanced to the right, the side Jimin was leading on, and noticed the large park pond just ahead. I remembered happier times, fishing there and skipping stones with my father when I was younger. Now it was still, only quick glimpses of the moonlight breaking through the darkness of the tree tops to alert of its presence.

It was as I was looking away that I heard it, the sounds of engines roaring from behind, and soon they were followed by a flood of headlights. “Shit,” I heard Yoongi mutter. “It’s them! Go, Chim! Step on it!”

Obeying his older friend, our bodies lurched forward as power was put into the bikes and we began to pick up speed, but we’d been too slow. The group of bikes was closing in on us quickly, faster than had been expected. My hand clung to Yoongi, my cheek pressing into his back. It was only because of this that I heard his words.

“You have to shoot them! You have to use your knees to hold onto me and shoot at them!” he called against the wind.

“I can’t!”

“You have to try!”

He fell quiet and I sighed, sitting up and doing as he said, pressing my knees against his thighs and carefully slipping away. I pulled an arrow from the quiver and with shaking hands, tried to set it with the bow, but it was no use as I fumbled and failed several times.

“We’ll split up!” Jimin called from beside us now, clearly picking up on the fact that I couldn’t do this to save us. I felt a pang hit my stomach at the thought of how completely useless I was being to the two men who’d done so much for me.

“Fine, we’ll see you back at the place!” As we pulled away, I saw Yoongi look in the direction of his friend. “Be careful, Chim!” he called out to him. A hand in the air was the last we could see as he veered off to the right, the bike speeding up faster.

I glanced over my shoulder, watching a pair of headlights chase us, while a small group of others followed after Jimin, never losing any ground. I continued to watch as a gleam of light bounced off a gun that fired, creating a brief spark like fire, or the sun in the black night. My eyes watched as I heard a pop and saw what I could only imagine to be a body flying through the air, only to land out of my sight.

“Jimin!” I screamed, hot tears welling up in my eyes as more gunshots fired and I imagined the end of my friend. He was out numbered and alone. There was no one there to back him up, no one there to save him. I convinced myself of the worst. Jimin was dead. He was dead and it was my fault. I couldn’t help us when they needed me most. I couldn’t do anything right it seemed.

Yoongi, however, had managed to put considerable distance between our pursuers and ourselves. We’d made it far enough that the soft glow of the street lamps lit up in the near distance. We were almost there when a boom sounded, and before I knew what was happening, I was tumbling through the park grass, the weapon falling away from my hold. The wind had been knocked from my body as my dizzy gaze stared up into the darkness above.

“Come on,” someone whispered as a hand pulled me up to my feet. “Keep moving,” Yoongi worded.

My hand slipped easily into his, holding it tightly as we took off running before I really had time to find the ground again. “But the bow and arrows!” I worried I’d lost them forever, but when I turned back around, I saw the quiver on his back and the bow in his free hand as we ran into the street and turned into a nearby alley. The sounds of the bikes grew louder as they closed the distance between us.

In the darkness of our new hiding spot, Yoongi pulled his black leather coat from his back and shoved it onto my arms. “Wear this. Don’t move a muscle. Breathe slowly through your mouth. Don’t gasp, don’t speak, don’t cry. You can do this.”

I had no choice but to obey my protector as my arms slid into the coat and he pulled the hood over my head. My mind wandered what he would do, his skin milky white and his silver hair cutting through the night like a knife. He would surely be seen. He backed me up against a dumpster, forcing me to curl up into a sort of ball and shuffling a few full trash bags around me before he darted further down the alley. I wondered if this was his way of getting rid of me, leave me to fend for myself while he made a getaway. It was a genius idea, really.

Regardless of his plan, I did as I was told, breathing slowly from my mouth and taking care not to make any noises that might give me away. It was difficult to keep my teeth from chattering against one another as I sat there huddled up in my dark corner. Headlights flooded the dark alley and a shadow appeared. It walked slowly, taking care to make sure it didn’t pass up any potential hiding places. I felt the dumpster lurch behind me, and listened as the lid was raised and the person poked around inside, probably expecting to find someone within.

I watched as the man walked by, glancing in my direction, but my face was hidden by a curtain of dark hair and the black hood. It was then that I realized I must look something like one of the trash bags I was surrounded by, and this gave me hope that we would pull through. I watched as the man walked further and my breath caught in my throat as I noticed he had stopped and was looking at something. I could only imagine it was Yoongi.

Distracted by the threat, I hadn’t noticed my head had risen and my breathing had increased. I didn’t notice a second person approaching until he was upon me, pulling me up to a standing position.

“Gotcha! Shame, you’re pretty cute, but you’re hanging out with those guys, so you’re no good to me.”

He pulled a knife from his pocket and I watched as the blade slung out. Despite my best efforts to wriggle free, his hold across my chest was tight and unrelenting. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, the way the knife rose through the air toward my throat, the way a single hot tear rolled down my cheek, the sound of a scream, followed by a prick to my back.

The knife clattered to the ground and I felt myself go free. I stepped forward quickly and looked behind me, watching my captor fall to the ground with an arrow protruding through his chest. I didn’t care that I’d been slightly cut by the weapon, I didn’t care that I was staring at a dead man at my feet. Without thinking, my legs took off at a run, headed straight for the man with the bloodied lip and beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

With little thought, my arms flung around Yoongi’s neck, my face burying in his chest as I clung to him. It took a second before a single strong arm wrapped around my waist and held me for a moment.

“Thank you,” I whispered into his shirt.

His voice was softer than usual, kinder than it’d been all night as he whispered. “That’s the second time tonight. Let’s not make a habit of this, yeah?” he teased.

For a moment, we were still, simply remained in the embrace until he finally pulled away with a sigh. His hand slipped into mine as he tugged me down the alley, toward the two bikes that had been left behind by his victims.

“Wait,” I whispered, tugging at his hand. “We have to go back for Jimin.”

He groaned and shook his head. “We can’t. We need to keep moving, get to safety. Jimin is capable of taking care of himself. He’ll be okay.”

I didn’t believe him though. If by some miracle, he’d managed to escape with his life, he’d probably been hurt. All I could imagine was his body on the ground, in pain, hoping that Yoongi and I would return to help him. “Yoongi, please,” I begged quietly.

He seemed to contemplate my request before he sighed in a grumpy manner. “Fine, but if there’s any signs of trouble lingering there, we’re splitting, okay?”

I nodded and together we approached the bikes and mounted one. Like before, my arms slipped easily around his waist as he traced our steps back to the park in hopes of finding our friend. As we grew closer, Yoongi killed the lights and slowed, our eyes scanning the area for any signs of life but finding none. Taking a deep breath, we went back into the park and in the direction we’d last seen Jimin.

A safe distance away, we parked the bike and took to our feet, looking for the other. Squinting through the darkness, I knelt down, hoping that I would be able to catch sight of the form of a body on the ground, but instead, I found something much worse.

“Yoongi!” I whispered in his direction, watching as he hurried over. My finger extended to the dark spot that tainted the grass, my stomach dropping as I looked up at him. The blood trailed toward the pond, leading us to follow it right up to the water’s edge.

“Jimin!” I softly called over the surface, but Yoongi’s hand clasped against my mouth and he shook his head. Just off in the near distance of the road, we could hear a motorbike slowly circling around the park, probably looking for signs of us.

A finger touched Yoongi’s lips to shush me as he slowly led me away. We’d almost made it back to our stolen bike when the sound returned, much closer this time. I found myself pulled into Yoongi’s chest as he pressed his back into a tree trunk, his gaze looking in the direction of the sound on the other side. His dark jacket still on my shoulders shadowed us in the night as the bike passed by. He didn’t release me when it left, though. Instead, we remained in an awkward, but comfortable embrace as my gaze drifted up to find his.

“We… We should go,” I stumbled over my words, realizing the lustful temptation that echoed in my mind, encouraging me to take his lips in my own. I scolded myself, reminded myself the longer we stood there, the longer we were in danger of being caught.

He nodded and we returned yet again to the bike, getting on and bringing it to life. As we sat there for a moment, I said a little prayer for Jimin, that his soul would rest peacefully, or he would manage to survive the night and get to a hospital first thing in the morning. At this rate, it was all I could do as we pulled away from the park without looking back.


	3. Chapter Three

My mind was racing as Yoongi drove us out of the park and back into the dark night. He was slow and careful not to make more noise than was necessary as he turned a corner and then another. I had so many things I wanted to ask him, so many questions I needed answers, and a heart that needed mending at the thought of Jimin and how we’d left him behind. Even if he had died, we should have looked for the body, even if it meant swimming to the bottom of the pond. It was ridiculous, I know. We would have never found him in the murky waters at night. Not only that, I feared what else might be sitting at the bottom of the body of water. How many others had died there on Purge night? Was Jimin resting among others who had fought for their lives and failed? My thoughts were interrupted by the bike stilling near the end of a street.

“This is where we get off,” Yoongi mumbled, his eyes shifting left and right in a quick manner. “The rest of the streets are too busy, and that bike is much louder than the ones we used. It’d attract too much attention. Besides, everyone recognizes the sound of our bikes and stays away, but that one would be unexpected.”

His explanation had answered one question, but in return it had brought up many others. I couldn’t seem to swat them all away as they assaulted my mind. Regardless, I did as I was told and slipped off the vehicle. Instinctively, I closed in the distance between us, his shifting eyes making me more nervous and more alert than I had been moments ago.

“Where are we going exactly?” I finally piped up softly as we began to walk down a road, sticking close to the walls of the buildings.

“We’re going to the place where we live. You’ll be safe there, don’t worry,” he replied, though his voice sounded a bit sadder than it had when we’d parked the bike.

I wondered if the idea of returning home without Jimin hurt him as much as it hurt me. Surely it did. I hadn’t been friends with the guy for years like Yoongi had been. I couldn’t even imagine the pain he must have been trying to cover up behind the tough guy mask. I drew closer and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

“I’m sorry about Jimin. I really am.”

“Why are you acting like he’s dead? You don’t know anything,” he bit back.

I flinched under his cold tone, though he was right. I had to stay hopeful. He could have survived. “Okay, true. I don’t know anything except that I’m obviously being a nuisance to you, but you also won’t let me go off on my own. I could just go home but you and everyone else seem intent on dragging me to your house, which I still have no idea where that even is, or what you even plan to do to me there. The only answer I seem to be getting is ‘sit down and shut up, we’ll get you to safety’ but you know, I don’t feel safe at all. Well, that’s not true, I mean you both risked your own lives to keep me safe up to this point, but I don’t know if I trust you and the others. For all I know you’ll all take turns ending my life slowly and painfully once we get there! Not only that, we were almost just killed by a gang of motorcyclists who seemed keen on making sure you two died, as if they had some sort of vendetta against you. So no, forgive me for not knowing anything when I can’t seem to get answers out of anyone, but I’m supposed to just blindly trust you.”

It took a moment for me to realize we’d stopped walking and my voice had risen just slightly. I’d finally let out all the growing concerns I’d had, though they’d been laced with a bit of anger. I hadn’t meant to be so harsh, though I thought I was rather kind considering the way he’d been talking to me.

We stood there on the walk, staring at one another. I waited for him to say something, anything, and the longer I waited, the more I began to wonder if I had just ignited a time bomb.

“If that’s how you feel, then go home.”

My eyes widened in surprise. It couldn’t be that easy, not after all that fighting against the idea the group had done up to this point. Yet, he made no movement that would suggest he was lying or just joking around.

“Finally,” I murmured as I turned without hesitation on my heels and started off in the other direction, not even looking back once, despite the sudden fears that returned tenfold within me. I had grown a bit more relaxed knowing someone had my back, but now I was on my own, had to fight my own battles.

I stopped beneath a street sign and glanced up at the name as I reached to pull my phone out of my pocket, only to realize I was still wearing Yoongi’s black leather jacket. The urge to look back and see if he was still there tickled my soul, but I resisted it as I turned my gaze back to the phone in my hand. The Google symbol popped up as the app began to load, and my imagination ran away with me for a moment. What if someone at Google was a devoted Purger and was using the maps system to track people? I swallowed a lump in my throat and closed the app, shoving my phone back into my pocket. I would just have to wing this.

My foot had just risen when the sound of running feet stopped me. My hands curled up into fists and I jumped around, my feet planting firmly into the ground in a defensive manner. “I have a nasty right hook!” I half-yelled in the air, only to land and realize it was Yoongi that was looking back at me, an amused smirk on his face.

“Oh, it’s you,” I deadpanned, though my fighter’s stance didn’t drop. “What do you want? Come to tell me that I should just trust you and that you’ll get me somewhere safe?”

He shook his head with a sigh, his hands stuffing into the pockets of his pants. “Yes, but more than that, you’re right. We shouldn’t have dragged you off without answers. I promise we’re not going to slowly kill you or have our way with you, if that’s what you’re afraid of. Just come back with me and I’ll answer your questions on the way.”

There was no movement from either of us, simply another stare down, but he seemed genuine and if I was going to get answers then surely he was being truthful. Although, he could just kill me after telling me everything and then it would be as if I had never been told. Once again, I had to make a choice. Go on my own or follow him only half-blindly this time.

“What if I want to go home? Would you let me go?”

The man sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “If that’s really what you want. You’re not my prisoner, but I doubt you’d make it an hour at this rate. I won’t stop you though.”

“Fine, I’ll go.” His answer was satisfactory enough to help me decide to give him a second chance. At least now I had the option to break away if I felt things were getting worse as the night progressed.

My fists dropped and we began to walk once more in our original direction, both of us silent for a moment.

“You were going to use Google Maps to get home, weren’t you?”

I didn’t say anything, too embarrassed at the way I lacked a sense of direction.

“You know, they probably have some crazy pro-Purge dude sitting behind a desk, calling out coordinates whenever someone brings it up,” he whispered.

My eyes grew wide and I looked up at his face, shocked at what he’d just said. I hadn’t uttered the words aloud, had I? No, they had definitely been inside my head when I’d thought them. There was no way he could have possibly heard them from me.

“I’m only joking,” he whispered to me upon noticing my change in facial expression. “It’s probably not true at all,” though he didn’t sound so sure himself.

My eyes looked away and back to the walk ahead of us, a light breeze tickling my neck as it blew my hair away from my skin.

“Who were those guys? The ones that came after us? Was it just random Purgers or was I right in saying they have something against you guys?”

Once again, our eyes met and he sighed, breaking the gaze first to look up ahead, his eyes slowly moving left to right in thought.

“You were right. They’re a rival gang.”

“A rival gang? Rival to what? To see who can get the most kills in the night? Is this a competition and they’re just a bit overly competitive?”

Yoongi shook his head, keeping his gaze forward. “No, it’s not that simple and petty. A few years back, the guys and I came together to form our group. We’ve been friends since childhood, all of us have lived here our whole lives, were on city league teams together, lived next door to one another, but a few years ago something happened that changed us, changed me.” He paused, his words seeming to catch in his throat before he decided to go on. “We formed our group of… I guess in a way we’re vigilantes. We don’t support the Purge. We want it to end, want people to be able to live in peace. The guys who came after us are pro-Purge. It’s sad, some of us used to be friends, but at some point, we formed our own opinions on things and grew apart. Circle of life I guess. Either way, they want to put an end to us. They’ve tried to get us to join them several times, but we’re a bunch of hardheaded kids. We stick to our guns when it’s something we believe in and we believe in putting an end to this ridiculous… system, if you can call it that.”

It wasn’t an answer I had been expecting. Though, I didn’t know what I had expected, but hearing a story about a group of supposed vigilantes going against a group that could be considered villains in the eyes of those like me who would end up being their victims seemed a bit like a fairytale.

“So I promise you, we aren’t out to get you. You’re our friend. We want to see you safe at the end of the night.”

The softly spoken words sent a nod of understanding from me as my gaze looked to the ground in shame. I had yelled at him earlier, had called him untrustworthy and basically a murderer. I’d suggested he was plotting to kill me, when really, he was doing the complete opposite of that, just as he had said from the beginning.

Instead of apologizing for my harsh words from earlier, however, another questions blurted from my mouth. “What happened a few years ago? To make you all take up arms and protect the innocent, I mean.”

Yoongi’s brows furrowed as he sucked in a breath and shook his head. “Mmm,” he hummed. “I can’t… I mean I don’t really want to talk about it. Please understand. I know I told you I would answer your questions, but this is one I can’t.”

I wanted to be angry, wanted to harass him into telling me, but instead I sighed and nodded again. “Alright then. I hope one day you’ll be able to share it with me,” though I wouldn’t wait for him to. There were six other guys in this group, though that remained to be seen at this point, one of them was bound to tell me what had occurred those years ago.

We turned a corner and Yoongi stopped in front of a door. “We’re here.”

I looked up at the towering building as he pulled out a set of keys and started to unlock the front door before stepping out of the way to let me in.


	4. Chapter Four

It felt as if the apartment building extended above the clouds as we stepped in and he locked the door behind us. A small, empty lobby stretched out to the other end of the building and beside us a set of elevators sat turned off for the night. A warm hand slipped into mine and Yoongi pulled me toward the stairwell but stopped just outside of the door.

“Stay alert. Don’t speak and just follow me and don’t let go of my hand, okay?”

I found it hard to believe that anyone would be able to get into the building with the ridiculous amount of locks he’d had to open, but I nodded my head in understanding. Maybe it was because I was unarmed and his warning had me on edge, but I found myself instinctively drawing closer to him, giving his hand a squeeze as we entered the quiet stairwell that was surprisingly well lit.

Yoongi led the way up five flights of stairs with me just behind him, clinging to his hand and constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure we weren’t being tailed. We stood at the landing but for some reason he wasn’t going through the door. His hand rested on the knob but he was so quiet I couldn’t tell if he was even breathing.

“Yoo—“

My words were cut off as in one swift motion, he turned and wrapped his arms around me. He pulled me into a corner that wasn’t well lit by the lights and pinned me there, huddled against me as he pressed a finger to his lips.

Taking his warning to heart, I swallowed a lump in my throat. Feeling as if my breathing was too loud, I sucked in a breath and listened. It was faint but just beyond the door I could make out the sounds of a fight: scuffling followed by taunts and laughter. Fear crept over me and I felt the blood drain from my face.

Yoongi quietly pulled a knife from his pocket and slipped it into my hands before he pulled out a second and we waited. Sounds of running feet approached the door and I felt my body shake with fear. With his empty hand, Yoongi reached out and gently squeezed mine and as the knob of the door turned, he didn’t move. He remained hovering over him, as if he was protecting me. The door slammed open and we pressed closer together to fit in the small triangle it made with the wall, shrouding us.

“Dude that was awesome!” a guy called out as three or four of them ran into the stairwell and headed straight down instead of hanging around. The metallic smell of blood lingered in the air as their footsteps faded while they ran further away and the world became silent again.

My companion grabbed the door knob just shy of the barrier closing and opened it again, nodding his head toward the hallway on the other side. Still shaken by the close call, I managed to find my feet and pressed a hand against the door.

We stepped into the hallway but the site that greeted me sent bile to my throat. I couldn’t tell who the person was, but their limbs were scattered around the hall, the sandy colored tile floor had been painted crimson by the massive amount of blood that had begun to assault my sense.

Stashing his knife away, Yoongi came over and wrapped his arms around me, pressing my face into his chest.

“Don’t look,” he whispered. “Once you do, you won’t be able to forget it. Keep your eyes closed and just trust me okay?”

I had no choice but to go along with it. My arms were wrapped around his waist, pulled tight so that my cheek was pressed to his back. It wasn’t the most comfortable walking experience for either of us, but it seemed to be working. I didn’t want to seem weak by confessing that I had already seen too much. My imagination was already taking off with morbid thoughts of how much worse it may actually be as we walked by, my feet making a squelching noise, sending a sob to my throat as I realized the only reason it may be doing that.

We came to a stop and I felt Yoongi turn around.

“Keep your eyes closed. I’m going to take off your shoes, okay?”

I nodded my head, realizing hot tears were streaming down my face as I felt fingers wrap around my ankle and take one shoe off, followed by the other. I stood still for a second, listening to the sound of boots behind tossed aside and a set of keys jangling.

One, two, three locks on an apartment door. It would have seemed ridiculous if I hadn’t seen the aftermath of what some people considered fun on this particular night. Yoongi’s hand slipped back into mine and he pulled me inside and shut the door quietly behind him. Again, three locks clicked back into place and he sighed.

“If they weren’t still out there I’d do the chain but it’d be dangerous if they need to get in quick.”

Taking this as a sign, I opened my eyes to a dark apartment and Yoongi mumbling behind me, scratching his chin in thought. He waved a hand at the door and walked past me, leaving the lights off until he reached what I assumed to be the living room and flicked on one very dim table lamp.

“Well? Come on, then. Sit down. Let it out. You’ll be safe here for the rest of the night.”

I followed his orders again, moving like a robot to the sofa and falling into it. I stared at my feet as the tears swelled up in my eyes. I didn’t know what had happened to my family. Were they safe? We were chased down by some gang of Purgers who used to be friends with the people who lived in the apartment I now sat in. Jimin was gone. Who knew if he was dead or alive, though I couldn’t possibly see how he would survive the night if he was wounded, which I believed him to be after seeing the blood splotches. We had nearly been killed again, but by some stroke of luck, the idiots had completely missed us behind the door. But to tie it all in, I’d seen someone decapitated and one of my favorite pair of shoes were probably ruined, coated in blood.

There was no way to hold it in anymore as I slumped over and buried my face in my hands, my knuckles brushing against my knees. None of this was supposed to be happening. I was supposed to be safe at home. Instead, someone may have died because of me.

The sobs shook my body uninterrupted until a knocking sound came from the coffee table nearby. Through blurry eyes, I looked up and saw a glass with amber colored liquid inside. Yoongi sat in an armchair nearby with his own, his face void of any emotion and his voice back to the cold tone it’d carried earlier, nothing like the one that had been concerned just outside the apartment.

“Drink it. It’ll help ease the pain a little.”

I had just taken one small sip when the sound of hurried voices came from outside the door.

“Get it open! Hurry up!” one shouted.

“There’s three fucking locks! I’m doing the best I can!”

Yoongi shot up from his seat and grabbed his bow and arrow from the corner. Setting the glass down, I found myself grabbing a throw pillow and cowering in the corner of the sectional I was still sitting on. The locks turned and I watched as the string of the bow was pulled back in concentration. But instead of shooting it when the door opened, Yoongi dropped it and ran.

“Shit!” he called from near the door as it shut and hurried feet moved into the room.

Someone stayed back and clicked the locks back in place but a huddle of the guys I’d seen a few hours ago moved through the room and into one of the bedrooms off to the side.

Jumping to my feet, I ran to see what the commotion was, only to find myself falling back against the wall inside the room.

“J-Jimin!”

Again, my eyes blurred over with tears upon seeing the man who had helped keep me safe. He was soaked through, shivering and in pain.

“You’re a nurse right?” Seokjin asked, appearing beside me suddenly with a first aid kit and what looked to be a small sewing box in hand. “Help him, please,” he whispered.

With shaky hands, I took the boxes and the guys moved out of the way except for Yoongi. I looked at no one but Jimin, surveying his condition and praying I could do this right.  _Just fix him until he can get proper help in the morning. Just do what you can now_ , I mentally told myself.

While the light of the bedroom was blocked from the outside by black out curtains, I knew the screams of pain that would come from Jimin would not be.

“This is going to hurt him,” I whispered, indicating they should do something to keep the shouts hidden.

As the moved around the room to give me space and to create a makeshift gag, I tugged at Jimin’s shirt, pulling it off him carefully. Blood seeped from a wound on his side, clearly made by a bullet. I looked at it, searching for any signs of silver color in the wound.

“There’s no bullet…” I murmured.

“We think he pulled it out himself before he passed out. When we finally found him, he was already like this,” Namjoon whispered worriedly from behind me.

I sighed and opened the first aid kid, pulling out a bottle of alcohol from within it. I screwed off the cap and glanced over at Jimin’s face.

“I’m sorry, Jimin,” I muttered. And I was. I was sorry for more than just what was about to happen, but also sorry for putting him in this position to begin with. This was my fault. If I had just made it home…

My head shook, both to get the thoughts away but to also convince myself to focus. Taking a deep breath, I let the soul smelling liquid rush over the wound, sending Jimin’s body into a stiff motion as he wailed against the cloth that had been put in his mouth. The sudden increase in pain must have been enough to shock him awake as his eyes fluttered open and his hands moved toward the wound. As if they were expecting it, Taehyung and Namjoon flung forward and grabbed Jimin’s arms, holding them down.

“Hurry and finish it!” Taehyung called out.

Once more my hands began to shake, knowing Jimin was awake making me more nervous than I’d been before. It took me several tries to get a thick piece of string through a needle and even longer for me to finally get to work, sewing the wound shut. Jimin’s screams filled the room the whole time, and I had to fight off the urge to crumble and fall with each stitch.

Eventually, we managed to finish and I wrapped a bandage around Jimin’s waist with some help of the others. While he was in and out of consciousness, we fed a few aspirin into his mouth and let him fall asleep.

“It won’t hold long, but hopefully it will be enough to last through the rest of the night,” I mumbled, eyes still glued to a now sleeping Jimin.

I was feeling exhausted. I wanted to climb into a corner and pass out, sleep everything away, but I wasn’t able to escape before Seokjin gently grabbed my arm.

“Jungkook needs you.”

A sigh trickled from me but I nodded and followed him into another room where Jungkook sat on a bed with his head against the wall. He was conscious and didn’t seem in as serious condition as Jimin, but he was still battered and bruised with a gash across his arm.

I sat beside him and took out gauze and alcohol and set to work.

“Thank you, nurse,” he joked quietly from beside me.

A snort left me. “I’m not actually a nurse you know. It seems Seokjin has me confused with my mother.”

“He remembers the time you fixed him up after he got that cut. You told us your mother was a nurse and you learned a few things from her. Though, I think it’s just his way of reassuring himself that we’ll all be okay, you know? Believe that you’re a nurse reassures him that Jimin will pull through the night.”

It made sense. Knowing I could be a source of comfort to at least once person helped ease the ache I had been feeling in my chest all night as I finished working on Jungkook’s minor wounds and slid a couple aspirin to him.

Feeling like my job was done, I fell against the wall, still beside him and sighed.

“Why did you guys get into this? Why did you all decide to become superheroes of Purge Night?”

Jungkook let out a breath of a laugh. “I wouldn’t call us superheroes. We still do morally questionable things. We still hurt people. We have killed people. We have more blood on our hands than we would have ever imagined. Maybe we do go after the so called villains. We don’t support the Purge and so we try to protect other people from those who do, but in a sense, aren’t we still taking advantage of Purge Night?”

I could feel my heart sink with every word he mumbled in response. The pain increased when he turned his gaze to me and I saw the sadness in his eyes. It was evident he’d seen things and he hurt from their actions, but that didn’t seem to stop him. After all, they could just give this life up any time and go into hiding once a year. It wasn’t as if anyone was asking them to live this sort of life.

“We’ve all lost someone because of the Purge,” he started quietly. “Family, friends, lovers. We’ve all experienced some sort of pain because of the evil that comes once a year. Some of us were actually there and were just lucky to escape or still be alive. It’s the loss that drove us to this point. We don’t want to see other innocent people suffer like we have.”

A sigh came from me as I processed all of this. It made more sense, knowing how loss drove them to be protectors of those who were weak and exposed on Purge Night made far too much sense.

“Will you tell me? Will you tell me their stories?” Though, mostly I was more curious about Jimin and Yoongi after having spent the entire night with the two.

“I don’t think it’s right for me to tell you their stories. They should tell you themselves when they’re ready, but I’ll tell you mine. Is that okay?”

I nodded my head in response and pulled my knees to my chest, my shoulder leaning into the wall the bed was pushed up against so I could face him comfortably.

“A year before our group decided to do this, I was out on Purge Night with the girl that was my first love. I know, it sounds crazy and risky for us to be out on the deadliest night of the year, but from the time we started dating to that point we did it every year. We worried that once morning came, one of us wouldn’t be out to meet the other. I don’t have to tell you or anyone really that Purge Night is unpredictable. People are unpredictable. So, it was a just in case goodbye meet up, I guess you could say. That year we had driven off to a nearby landscape that we loved. The river was always our favorite picnic place and somewhere that brought us peace.”

Jungkook paused and looked away to the blackout curtains on the window and swallowed. I could feel my own pulse quickening in the silence that had settled over us until he continued.

“We should have been home and safe. We had left with enough time to both make it home,” he whispered, his eyes glistening with unfallen tears. “The car broke down on the bridge as the sun was setting.”

* * *

_“What’s wrong with it, Jungkook?” Emilie’s voice was filled with fear and concern as she hovered just over his shoulder, looking under the hood of the car._

_“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll figure out it out. For now, get back in the car. It’ll be safer there.” As the girl he loved retreated back to the passenger seat, he turned his gaze to the mechanics and sighed. He couldn’t understand what was wrong. The car had never broken down before and there’d been no warning signs that anything was wrong. Maybe his dad would be able to help._

_Jungkook pulled out his phone and pressed a button, but the screen remained black except for the middle where an empty battery icon blinked angrily at him. Dead. Of course, just his luck. He was beginning to get worried and nervous. He couldn’t recall any nearby places where they could go take shelter. They could sit in a tree all night but even that didn’t guarantee them any safety. If they started walking now, they could possibly make it to the edge of town by the time the sun disappeared, but they would still have a ways to go to reach either of their homes, and by that point, everything would be shut down and locked up tightly._

_“Come on Jungkook, you can do this.”_

_He dove back into the car, twisting caps off to check liquids, poking boxes and sighing angrily. He didn’t even notice that the sun had already set until Emilie’s voice was calling out to him._

_“Jungkook! We have to go!”_

_He looked up, noticing the headlights that were fast approaching their car. There was no time to run, nowhere to run to. Even if they made it under the bridge, who was to say that was a safe place? Besides, that car was moving much faster than it normally would and only Purgers were crazy enough to be out after dark on this night._

_“Stay in the car. Get down on the floorboard. Don’t say anything okay? You’ll be okay! Get down, lock the doors!”_

_He heard the click followed by silence. Jungkook knew if he opened the driver door they would see it in the dim lights from their car. He had no time. There was only one option for him. He dropped to his hands and knees and army crawled beneath the car, his face looking in the direction of the car that stopped a distance off. Two pairs of feet approached their vehicle from the back and started to round it._

_The sound of a whistle from the passenger side had Jungkook’s heart pounding and he had to catch his breath to keep from giving himself away. It could be anything. They may not have seen her._

_His hopes were quickly smothered when he saw the other pair of feet walk over to join the first set. There was a laugh followed by a tap on glass. More laughing. The sound was haunting him, filling his ears, sounding louder than it really was. Fear and anger came over him as he began to wiggle, trying to worm  his way out from under the car._

_Shattering glass echoed on the empty bridge. A scream. More laughter. A gunshot. A pair of the two feet running off after one suggested she couldn’t be alone._

_Jungkook struggled, feeling tears heating up his eyes as he tried to inch out from his hiding spot. He’d been stalled after his shirt caught onto the car. When he finally broke free, he could feel the wind tickling his exposed back._

_Still under the car, he kicked a leg out and swung it at the feet of the other, knocking the man over. He shoved himself out into the open and crawled onto the guy. He couldn’t stop himself as he began to swing, throwing punches as fast as he could. He didn’t care how much damage he did to the guy’s face. He didn’t care how much blood the man shed. Jungkook couldn’t even control himself any longer as he hit over and over._

_He finally came to a stop when the man beneath him stopped fighting back and had fallen still. Crawling off him quickly, Jungkook ran to the car and unlocked the door, making the alarm sound. He didn’t care who came. Let them come. He didn’t care._

_Tired arms reached down and scooped up the still body of Emilie from the car floor. Sitting in the seat, Jungkook pulled her into his lap and felt the tears begin to stream down his face mercilessly. He could feel the still warm blood coming from the wound where the bullet had pierced her skin._

_Her eyes fluttered open and closed rapidly as she gazed up at him. A single tear trickled down her cheek. “Run, Jungkook. Save… yourself…”_

_Had this not been real life, the young man may have laughed at how cliché of a line it was, at how cliché the whole scene was. He couldn’t laugh, though. He couldn’t do anything but sob with her in his arms._

_“No, I’ll get you help. Just stay awake, okay? Stay awake, Emilie.”_

_He was just beginning to prop her up in the seat beside him when a bang from behind lurched the car forward, making the door slam shut as it became wedged against the weak bridge railing._

_Jungkook looked out the back window, seeing the car backing up quickly. He knew what the guy was doing. He was trying to push them off the bridge. Jungkook set Emilie in the seat and pulled the belt over her. Just as it had clicked, he saw the lights approaching again and embraced for the impact._

_The slam was hard and even expecting it, he could still feel his body flinging around. He took the moment of rewind to scramble to the driver’s seat. He turned the key over and over, but no signs of life showed from the car._

_“START DAMN IT!” he screamed angrily._

_After a few more tries, the engine finally came to life, but before he could drive off, another slam came, sending his head connecting with the wheel._

_His head throbbed. He thought maybe it was going to explode._

_“Ugh,” he moaned in pain._

_But as his senses began to come to, he realized water was up to his chin and quickly rising. Panic came over Jungkook as he looked around and noticed Emilie, her eyes still, glazed over with death, still staring at him. His body stilled and he looked at her as the water reached his lips. He could just end it here. He could die with her. He wouldn’t have to worry about the guilt of leaving her behind._

_Save yourself, Jungkook._

_Her last words to him rang in his ears as the water came over the rest of his face and an inch from the roof of the car. No, this wasn’t what she would want._

_Jungkook kicked himself up and took a large gulp of air as the car filled with river water. He sank back into it and looked at Emilie again. His fingers wrapped around her hand and raised it to his lips. It was the last time he would see her again. The last time he would show her any affection like this. She was gone, but her dying wish was that he would save himself._

_Willing himself to leave, he kicked against the glass of the car until it gave. He wiggled through the window and kicked off against the car to reach the surface._

* * *

“I hid beneath that bridge until morning and then walked home. I was soaked to the bone, spend the next couple of weeks fighting off sickness coupled with depression. Worst of all was… is the guilt. I could have protected her better. I could have kept her alive if we had just left the car and ran for it. It’s my fault she died,” Jungkook softly cried, burying his face in his hands.

My arms reached away from my body and circled around his neck, holding him close as his body shook. It wasn’t fair. How could this happen to someone as sweet and optimistic as Jungkook? Had he not told me, I would have never guessed he’d suffered such a tragedy. My appreciation for the friend I held grew and I found my arms tightening around him.

We stayed that way until Jungkook cried himself to sleep. I slipped away from him and set him in his bed carefully, pulling the blanket up over his shoulders. I switched off the light and closed the door, noticing the others had gathered quietly in the living room, looking exhausted.

I stood there for a moment, watching them all. I realized the fear and doubt I’d had at the beginning of the night had vanished. They weren’t bad. They weren’t doing this to hurt me. I was here, in their home, because they cared whether I lived or died. After hearing Jungkook’s story and knowing the others had suffered as well, I could no longer doubt them. Again I could feel tears welling up in my eyes but I blinked them away.

Taking a blanket from the edge of the sofa, I approached Taehyung who’d fallen asleep with his head rolled back and mouth wide open. I smothered the laugh in my throat and smiled as I draped the blanket over him and rolled his head over to the side. No one else seemed to notice me as I slipped back into the room where Jimin was sleeping.

The overhead light had been turned off and a dim table lamp had been set up in the corner of the room. I slipped into the bed opposite of his and looked at the scene before me. Yoongi leaned against this bed, his hand cupping Jimin’s as he slept.

“Yoongi?” I whispered to him.

There was no response, suggesting he too had fallen off to sleep, or he just wanted me to think as much. I wasn’t hurt by the idea that he was ignoring me. They had all suffered so much in just a few hours. I sighed and pulled my knees to my chest again, hoping whoever’s bed I’d snagged wouldn’t mind me being there. I sat there quietly, just watching Jimin’s chest rise and fall, hoping he would pull through. I looked to Yoongi again, his position never changing since I’d arrived. Maybe he really was asleep.

“What happened to you? What drove you to this?” I whispered across the room.

I knew there wouldn’t be a response. Even if he’d heard it, I was asking too much from him, especially seeing how upset he was over Jimin’s current state. I assured myself there would come a day when he would tell me. I knew it would have to be on his own time and not mine, and I was okay with that. With my chin propped up against my knees, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I woke up some time later to the sounds of screams. I couldn’t tell where they were coming from and in the dark room, I felt fear creep over me. Catching my breath, I sat up, feeling a blanket fall off me. I couldn’t see anything from the direction of the door and I wasn’t familiar enough with the layout of the room to shuffle my way through it. I shivered as someone screamed again.

“Yoongi?” I whispered hurriedly, wondering if he was still sitting with Jimin or if I and the one who couldn’t defend himself at all were left alone.

“It’s okay,” came a soft whisper from beside me.

I hadn’t even noticed the body huddled on the bed in the dark and let out a sigh. “Jungkook?”

My hand reached out in the darkness to find him. “That’s my face,” he mumbled behind my hand, a slight laugh laced in his words.

“Oh, sorry. What’s going on?”

Another scream echoed and I felt myself jump just slightly. The blanket that had been pulled to my shoulders suddenly wrapped around them again and over my head. Hand tucked the front around and slipped the fabric into my hands.

“Just stay like that. It’ll make you feel better until it’s over. We live a few doors down from a wealthy older lady. It seems she may have forgotten to lock up carefully and a group of Purgers came knocking.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “So the others…”

“They’re out there helping her. Don’t worry, it’s not any of them. Just stay calm and don’t get out of the bed. The door’s locked and I’m armed. I couldn’t go help because I’m too battered and bruised.” I could almost see the sad smile accompanied by his words. “Plus, we couldn’t leave you and Jimin here alone. It’s too risky.”

I nodded my head, even though I knew it was useless and sat against the wall in my blanket burrito. Looking for something to distract myself with, I looked in his direction.

“Did you pull the blanket over me while I was sleeping?”

“You were already like that when I came in. The only other person who’s been in here was Yoongi. I have to admit, I’m surprised he didn’t wake you up and make you move. He doesn’t usually let just anyone sleep on his bed.”

I could feel the blood rushing up my neck and to my cheeks. “Oh,” I choked.

Luckily, I was spared more embarrassment by the world going quiet and the sound of multiple locks clicking. A dim light trickled beneath the door and a knock sounded followed by Yoongi’s voice.

“Jungkook, open the door.”

The youngest of the group did as he was told and opened the bedroom door to reveal Yoongi coated in blood. He cast a fleeting glance toward me before looking to Jungkook.

“Get her out of here. I need to clean up and get some sleep.”

There was no need to tell me twice. I scrambled out of the bed, ditching the blanket behind and out of the room, followed by Jungkook a moment later. The door shut behind us and I let out a sigh. From the sofa, Jin patted the spot beside him, looking cleaner than the others who had just walked in. I took the seat and felt an arm wrap around my shoulders.

“It’s been a long night. You must be tired after being kidnapped by us and forced to nurse our injured. I think the rest of the night will go by without a hitch. You should rest some more while you can.”

Even though I nodded my head, I was suddenly feeling wide awake. I couldn’t help but turn my gaze to him as my shoulder leaned into him.

“Seokjin? What’s your story? Jungkook told me about his, but what about you? Why are you here?”

A sad smile crossed his lips, an unusual sight. He sighed and gazed off at the wall on the other side of the room.

“Namjoon and I had a friend, Jaehwan. We were best friends, aside from the guys here. He was killed on Purge night after a break in through a faulty window security.”

It was short, but I didn’t think I needed to hear more details than that. Nor did it feel right trying to get him to say more. I still remembered the pained expression on Jungkook’s face while he’d recalled the vivid details. I didn’t want to make Seokjin suffer that way too.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” I whispered.

“It’s not your fault. These things… well they happen, sadly. The sooner an end can be put to it, the better.”

The spot beside me sank and Jungkook patted my hand.

“Sleep,” he encouraged. “You’ll be okay here.”

With the encouragement spoken once again, I leaned over and propped my head up on Seokjin’s shoulder, comforted by the arm around me and Jungkook on my other side.

“By the time you wake up, it’ll be morning and you’ll be able to go home. Sleep well,” whispered Seokjin as I drifted off into slumber.


	5. Chapter Five--End Year One

_I could see my mom and dad running toward me. Their arms were stretched out and fear danced wildly in their eyes. My own hand appeared before me. Fingertips just lightly brushed against others. I realized we were in a busy terminal of some sort. Airport? Subway? I couldn’t really tell. People were running frantically from something. Children screamed in their mother’s arms. I could feel an intense heat creeping up my body as I looked beyond all the terrified faces to spot the cause. A group of masked people approached with various weapons embraced in their grasp. They way they were splattered in blood and cocked their heads gently to the side as they swarmed on a lagger made them look more like monsters than men._

_A lump formed in my throat as I stared unmoving. The leader, or the one who appeared to be the leader, set his sights on me and approached. I could imagine a disgusting smirk etched across his face beneath his mask as he rolled his spiked baseball bat like it was nothing. I wanted to scream, to run. Hell, I wanted to fight back but I was helpless and plastered in place._

_“Yah!” I heard my mother call to me, her voice seeming much further away than I would have imagined. I wanted to go to her. Wanted to sputter out a response, but nothing came out. I was choking on air as my eyes remained locked on my approaching enemy._

_“YAH!” It came again, but this time it was deeper, closer, and much more determined to get my attention._

_I felt my hair tickle my neck as my head swung to look in the direction it’d come from._

_“Yoongi?” I whispered._

_His fingers wrapped around my arm and tugged me. My whole body jutted as if I was riding in a sputtering old car._

_“YAH! WAKE UP!”_

_But I was awake. Couldn’t he see that? Surely he wasn’t being his usual smart ass self at a time like this. Or maybe he was. It seemed like his specialty after all._

_As we ran and I pondered his strange behavior, cold, slick fingers caught just above the elbow of my free arm and tugged me to a stop. I turned to see the mask face I’d feared before. I could smell his breath–the scent reeked of a sort of bitter melting paint smell that made my stomach churn with how pungent it was._

_Yoongi was suddenly gone from my side and finding me  helpless, my captor curled his fingers around my neck. I felt my feet leave the ground and my own hands grasped at his arms in an attempt to gulp even just a little air._

_The world around me was growing spotty. Black orbs dotted places where they shouldn’t have been like spilled ink. The man laughed and raised his bat. Just as I thought everything was about to end, I heard his voice again._

* * *

“WAKE UP, YOU STUPID GIRL! 

Sweat permeated my entire body as I shot up from where I was sleeping on the sofa. It was just a dream! I was a live. Or so I thought. Even in the waking world, screams could be heard mingling with the sounds of strange crackling, and almost instantly a cough began to wrack my body.

“WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!” Yoongi screamed at me, seeing how I was finally awake.

I could barely make out things with the thick smoke billowing around us, but from the hall I could hear shouts from familiar voices, could hear what sounded like skulls being cracked, and the undeniable sound of a fire raging in the building.

Jimin’s arms were flung around Yoongi’s shoulders, as if he was getting a half piggyback ride with his feet dragging behind. From his groans of pain and the twisted look of agony on his face, it was evident he was conscious and most likely the stitches I had carefully done earlier were no longer intact.

But I realized quickly that wasn’t what was important. Yoongi was right. We had to leave and now. He was already ahead of me, running through the door and looking up and down the hall before heading toward the stairs with Jimin still dangling from behind.

Damn he was fast when he needed to be.

I willed myself to follow, stopping only briefly when I saw the familiar bow and quiver of arrows. Scooping them up, I hustled into the hall to see the others helping neighbors, fighting off purgers, and generally yelling at each other through the chaos.

“Go!” Shouted Jungkook when he saw me staring helplessly between them. “We’ll follow soon!”

With his promise tucked into my heart, I obeyed. Yoongi was already near the first floor but his speed had significantly decreased as it seemed Jimin had passed out, likely from a mix of the pain and the smoke.

I tugged my sweaty shirt up to cover my face, not caring what skin was exposed or if any undergarments were offering a free peep show to anyone. It helped, even if only a little. I managed to catch up and using the arm that wasn’t carrying the weapon, I cradled part of Jimin’s still form against my own, hoping even a little relief could speed Yoongi up again.

The relief was only short lived. As soon as the door to the lobby was kicked open, we were greeted by a horrid sight. Bodies littered the floor, lifeless. The look of terror was still shown on their faces as we took in the sight.

“They’re probably waiting for survivors outside,” Yoongi coughed from beside me.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I knew what I had to do.

Now, I know it seems crazy. Where did this sudden spurt of courage come from? Just earlier I was hopelessly fumbling with the same bow and arrows I held now. Why did I think things would be different? Why did I suddenly think going out there guns blazing was a smart idea?

“YAH!” Yoongi called behind me like in my dream, but I didn’t listen.

I steadied my hands as I kicked open the door to the outside, drinking in the sweet taste of fresh night air. He was right. They were waiting for anyone who could manage to walk out the doors to arrive.

Six of them stood around in a semi-circle, weapons at the ready. Fortunately for me, most of the purgers here preferred to watch their prey suffer. If they used guns, I would have been dead instantly.

Still feeling as if I was Sparta, I raised the bow and air shakily and aimed. I watched it fly and lodge into one of the purger’s legs.

“I DID IT!” I screamed at the enemies watching excitedly, forgetting they wouldn’t find it as an achievement.

“Yeah… You did…” One of the others muttered.

He was on me in seconds. I was stupid. Why did I think I could take on a group by myself. Maybe it was because I wanted to take care of Yoongi and Jimin and the others for once. All night they’d protected me and kept me alive. Jimin had almost died because of me. Why couldn’t I just look out for myself? Why couldn’t I be of help to them?

I was stupid.

The bow fell from my hands and the quiver slipped from the one shoulder it’d been strapped on as the man roughly pulled me to him, not bothering to cross any more ground than he needed to. It wasn’t good enough. He dragged me away from the building, my legs flailing against the ground, a rock cutting into my leg along the way. He stopped across the street and shifted so his hands were around my head. Grasping my chin, he shifted it up to the burning building, forcing my eyes to watch as slowly one floor crumbled down onto the next like a stack of dominoes.

“No!” I wanted to scream, to fight back again, but my terror and sadness was just a whisper swallowed up by the sounds of the cackling fire.

“You’ll be joining your friends now,” he laughed happily, clearly enjoying the whole show a little too much.

A glistening knife appeared from his body and I forced my eyes closed, unable to watch anymore, imagining the bodies of my friends trapped in the rubble and ashes.

I waited for what felt like an eternity for death to greet me finally. It had been a long night and I had been stupid for most of it. I deserved to die.

But death never came.

Instead, my body fell to the ground and when I opened my eyes, my captor was hunched over, lifeless. A single arrow penetrated the clothes on his chest and a crimson river trickled from the spot.

My head swung away, seeking out the one person I imagined had saved me… again. Just like the lobby, bodies were spread around the area unmoving and still. All but one.

“Yoongi!” I cried, but relieved and thankful. By some miracle, I found my legs despite the pain creeping up from the wound on it and ran to him.

Before I could stop myself, my arms flung around his neck and hot tears streamed down my cheeks.

“You’re alive! Thank you,” I cried into his neck. “Thank you!”

The bow fell to the ground from his hands and I felt his arms wrap around me gently but only for a second. Most likely from the stress and inhalation of smoke, his body crumpled into my hold.

“Yoongi? Are you okay?” I tried to pull away but even just the slightest movement made it seem as if he would collapse all together. Instead, I helped him to the safety of the curb and set him down.

“Jimin?”

It was all he could do to raise a finger in the direction of a tiny body curled up on the concrete. Limp-running over, I pulled him into my arms and moved him over to the curb beside his friend.

As soon as he saw Jimin was safe, Yoongi leaned over to the other side and retched. It was darkened by the smoke he’d consumed and the coughing that followed clearly hurt. I could do nothing but watch until he stopped and let out a sigh, gulping in as much clean air as he could.

Ash painted his cheeks and hair, giving him an oddly attractive rough look. I hated that I felt inclined to clean it off. I used the hem of my shirt and raised it to his skin, gently rubbing at the darkness.

“You stupid girl,” he whispered, but despite the words, there was something else behind them. It almost sounded like affection. “What were you thinking? You could have killed all three of us!”

I should have held back the tears but his words hit. He was right about everything, though I wouldn’t ever admit it. I’d screwed up and it was only because he’d pushed himself that I’d survived. Not only that, but he’d left Jimin vulnerable to attack to protect me.

My body shook with tears, but in the next moment, it was enveloped in warmth. Without any words between us, Yoongi pulled me to his chest and gently pat my back, allowing me let it out. It was odd, the way he was being so comforting toward me when all night he’d just been angry and acted like I was just in the way. I didn’t question it though.

Comfortable in his embrace, I cried until the tears dried up and things grew silent around us.

“What will you guys do now?” I whispered, my face still pressed against his chest.

“The others have families they can go back to until we find a new place. Jimin and I…” He trailed off and I sensed he was debating with himself whether or not to continue.

“We don’t.”

I pulled away and met his gaze, not wanting to press him for more, but curious all the same. “Where are they?”

A bitter laugh escaped his lips and he shook his head. “Mine are dead.”

The way he said it was as if it didn’t matter, like he wasn’t bothered by it at all, but the way his gaze fell to the ground beneath his feet told me otherwise.

“They were killed three years ago.”

It began to click.

“A few years back… something happened that changed us, changed me.” I remembered the words he’d spoken to me earlier. Had the death of his family been what had brought them all together?

“We were all out,” he started. “It was purge night and usually we just banded together to waste time in a basement. That year it was Jimin’s turn. Everything should have been fine and things should have passed by easily, but his parents came home, burst into the basement. They told him to leave but he didn’t. I’ll never forget how shocked we all were to see them coated in blood. None of us, not even Jimin had known they were purgers.”

He fell quiet, his face moving away from his friend and me. I could feel the tension fall over the three of us quickly, even though Jimin was far from our world at the moment.

“They killed them,” he choked softly. “They wanted to finish it by taking me but the guys…” He shook his head. “We had no idea there was any hate between them. None of us could have ever imagined it.”

At this point, I was sure my jaw was on the ground, my eyes bug eyed round. It made sense now, even though I didn’t want it to. My heart sank and I ran my hands down my face.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, knowing it wasn’t my fault but wanting to make an attempt at consoling him. “I had no idea.”

“How could you?” he began. “I know none of the guys said anything. None of us bring it up for Jimin’s sake. His murderous parents killed mine and he has to live with that guilt.”

I understood now why he couldn’t go home, why neither could. One had no home and the other had turned his back on it. How tragic.

Just as I was about to offer more words of comfort, tires screeched and a familiar van stopped in front of us.

“You’re alive!” came Taehyung’s cheerful cry.

He and Seokjin hoped out of the back of the van, followed by Jungkook and Hobi. They pulled Jimin into the back on a blanket and ushered Yoongi and I in after. The doors closed and the world outside disappeared. I felt safe again. We were all safe. We were all alive and that’s how it would remain until the dim light of dawn painted a picture across the sky.


	6. Interlude

Gentle fingers scooped up handfuls of wet hair as the bristles of the brush parted and detangled the locks. **  
**

“Am I pulling too much?” came a gentle, sweet voice from behind me.

“No, it’s fine.”

As the brush continued to weave through my hair, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being cared for. My mother used to do this when I was little, but as I got older, things changed and the old habit died away. It was nice to feel this again, even if the person at my side was far from my mother.

The brush disappeared and I felt the towel wrap around my hair again for one last dry, the soft fabric brushing my exposed shoulders.

“There,” came his voice again. “You’re done.”

I could hear the smile in his voice before I saw it over my shoulder. I turned to face him with a grin of my own.

“Thank you,” I whispered as Jimin reached over and brushed a stray strand behind my ear.

My eyes traveled down his chest to the scar on his side. I couldn’t help but reach out and brush my fingers over it, still remember how he’d obtained it just months ago.

“It’s much better now,” he mumbled, his eyes watching my fingers.

“I’m glad.” And I truly was.

I had never expected to fall for Jimin the way I had. After the accident that night, we’d taken him to the hospital and had him properly stitched up. Good thing too. The doctor said if we’d waited any longer, it could have gotten infected. Feeling guilty that it’d happened to him because of me, I visited every day. After he was released, I continued to see him and make sure he was taking care of the wound.

The frequent visits to Jimin had brought on even more changes. The others insisted I should stay with them–one so they could protect me and make sure I didn’t do anything stupid, like get caught alone on Purge night again, two because they saw some value in having me around to play nurse when one of them ended up hurt, and three, because they said their new home would need a little female touch to it.

I’m still not sure what exactly that meant, considering the old farmhouse they’d bought and moved into was very masculine compared to what I would have done. They were at least kind enough to give me the largest room with its own bathroom and a balcony.

I gained more than just a new home out of the deal. They were teaching me how to protect myself. To say I was pretty disappointing when I picked up a weapon on Purge night is an understatement. I should be dead right now. I was careless and stupid, and my aim severely needed help.

Jimin had taken on most of the work. He said it was his way of thanking me for keeping him alive, but I think he was just denying his feelings for awhile. It took some time before he finally opened up and next thing I knew, we were sharing showers after training sessions.

Most of the others were pretty pleased about the relationship–there’s been plenty of teasing to go around. They didn’t seem too bothered by the fact that Jimin slept in my room more than his own or how he spent way more time with me than any of them. Most of them were okay with it.

I just wish I understood what was going through Yoongi’s mind. Since the relationship began, he’d come distant, not just from me, but Jimin as well. Very rarely do I see him around the house and when I do, the acknowledgement is just a simple nod or raised hand.

“What are you thinking about?” Jimin asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I smiled at him, looking into his kind eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

“How we got to this point,” I answered with a soft laugh.

His fingers were back in my hair again. This time, they gently pulled it up into a bunch at the top of my head and he picked up my ponytail holder to wrap it around the mess.

“Are you confused by our relationship?”

I could hear the faint sound of disappointment behind his words and knew I should have answered him differently.

“No! Not at all, Jimin-a!”

My hands reached for his own and clasped them tightly, forcing us to close in the distance a little more.

The corner of his lips curled up into one of his signature smiles. “Good.”

A gentle breeze blew in through the open balcony doors, making the curtains ruffle as the coolness indicated the coming of fall. It wrapped around us and tickled his hair, making my heart flutter more than it already was.

I could feel his breath kiss my skin as our lips neared.

The door burst open without a word of warning as Taehyung walked into the room. The surprise arrival had both of us jumping away from one another, but poor Jimin found himself slipping off the bed onto the floor. His head poked up over the edge as he sat up.

“YAH!” he called at our friend.

I had gotten used to visitors showing up at my door and since I was in a house full of males, I’d made sure to always stay clothed or at least keep a robe on standby.

Taehyung didn’t seem to notice we were there, even though it was clear he really did know. Instead of acknowledging us, he marched over to the television in the corner and turned it on.

I was surprised to see the station that usually played music 24/7 was now showing a news report with two very solemn looking reporters addressing the viewers.

_“For those of you who are just tuning in, we bring you this breaking news report. The government would like to announce the beginning of the bi-annual Purge. Previously, the Purge was conducted one night in the early spring every year. Now, the Purge will take place once in the fall, and once in the spring. It is expected the bi-annual event will help decrease the population in a quicker fashion. And so, the bi-annual event will remain until further notice.”_

The television went mute as Taehyung whirled around to find Jimin and I with our jaws slack on the ground. He looked as upset as we clearly felt.

“Bi-annually?” I whispered, still in shock. “They can’t do that! The population will not only decrease faster, it’ll go extinct in a matter of years!”

“I’m starting to think that’s what they want.”

Namjoon entered the room and took a seat in the corner chair by my bookshelf that was now lined with medical books.

“It feels like they want to wipe out the population and start over with a select few. Thousands die on Purge night, but now that there’s two–”

“More people will join them,” Jimin cut in. “If the Purge is now twice a year, more people will take up arms and join the hunt. Kill or be killed. They’ll see it as a better chance of survival.”

Pain stabbed at my heart. The only reason Jimin could assume this was because of his parents. Out of everyone in the house, he would understand how the Purgers would think simply because the people who raised him expected him to be on their side.

“I think so too,” Namjoon muttered sadly.

My hands brushed over my face as if they were trying to rub away the surprising news.

“This isn’t the time to be still,” came a cold, low voice from the doorway.

I looked up to see Yoongi looking in with the other three just behind him. Our eyes met for a moment before he looked away and stared blankly at the wall.

“If they want the Purge twice a year, it means we’ve got more work to do. We should start training harder now, see if there are others who are like us and team up. It isn’t going to be easy when there are many who oppose us and  _she_  still has a long way to go.”

And I knew exactly who he meant. The rival gang that had threatened us in the spring would surely only grow in numbers and their sole goal in life was to take down this bunch. I knew they would stop at nothing.

“He’s right,” I muttered as I felt Jimin’s hand around my arm. I gently pulled it away, shaking my head and looked up at Yoongi. “You’re right, Yoongi.” I noticed him flinch just slightly at the sound of his name, but that didn’t slow my voice. “I still have a long way to go, but you’ll all help me right? I can’t be the girl you all work to protect. I have to be able to protect myself and you guys while we are out there.” I looked to him again, my words directed more at him than the others. “Please, teach me what you know. Make me ready for whatever may come.”


	7. Chapter Six

Dust kicked up behind the motorcycle as I clung to the body facing mine. All the work we’d put in that morning had sweat dripping down my face like a leaky faucet. It probably didn’t help that the helmet felt tight and suffocating, and my hair was down since a pony tail wouldn’t fit inside. I was exhausted and in dire need of a shower followed by a nap, especially if I was going to be of any use to the rest of the gang tonight.

When the announcement had come out that the Purge would become bi-annual, we’d all agreed our most important goal now was to help people. We’d all tried to sit through university classes, we’d tried to study, but it wasn’t happening. One by one, we all pulled out. Our jobs were easy enough to focus on throughout the day and paid good enough for the eight of us to cover bills and necessities.

Our downtime was spent planning and preparing. We went out to black markets and pawn shops looking for weapons to add to our arsenal. Maps of the city were spread out over tables and scribbled on. We searched for escape routes, potential hiding places, meet up points, and where our rival gang--they call themselves The Eliminators, how original--could possibly have their headquarters.

The Eliminators stood the biggest threat to our own group. We’d spent half the Spring Purge running from and firing at them. Part of the gang had gone so far as to burn down the apartment building the boys had been living in. I didn’t really understand how the rivalry had come to be, not yet anyway. It was clear there was some history between the two groups. I had my guesses, but I dared not ask, not when it was obvious just the brief mention of them filled the others with fiery rage.

When we weren’t scouring over maps or shopping for what would usually be considered contraband--okay so it still is but how else do you prepare for Purge Night--we were training. Let me rephrase that, they were training me.

Like now.

The bike skidded to a stop and I loosened my grip from around the body with me. The bow and arrows were handed off and I reached up to remove the helmet from my head. In the fantasyland in my mind, my hair would whip around, catching a ray of sun and making me look glorious after the training session I’d just completed--and might I add completed it with flying colors.

Instead, the helmet came off with a squelching sound and hair stuck to the back of my neck and ears. I could see my reflection in the visor of my partner in crime and cringed at the sight of strands sticking up all crinkled and angry, and there was an obvious crease where the hair had been sticking out of my helmet. Top that off with the glistening from the sweat on my face and even I was backing away with a mortified expression.

“Are you gonna get off sometime today?” came the deep, completely unimpressed voice from the other helmet.

Yoongi raised the visor and stared at me impatiently. He didn’t have to tell me twice. His expression had me scrambling to my feet, stumbling as one foot landed on the ground and the other lagged too long behind.

Lucky for me, Jimin was standing by to steady me. Despite the fact that I surely looked like a monster, he beamed and wrapped his arms around me, patting my back.

“You did so well! You’re going to be protecting all of us now instead of the other way around.”

The compliment made me feel loads better. I mean, I’m not one of those girls who likes being defenseless and helpless. True, I’m not the strongest person in the world, and I’ve been known to make some incredibly stupid mistakes--flashback to half a year ago when I was caught outside when the Purge started, among other things--but I’ve always wanted to be better. It’s always been a dream of mine to be able to kickass myself instead of watching someone do it for me.

“We should get home for a shower and rest,” Jimin happily whispered, pulling me toward the other motorcycle.

“Do I really stink that bad?”

He chuckled and shook his head. Meanwhile, Yoongi, having put up with enough of our disgusting display of sweet words, drove away in the direction of the farmhouse we all lived in.

I know what you’re thinking. How did I end up being on a motorcycle with Yoongi and not my boyfriend? Believe me, it wasn’t my first choice.

Things between Yoongi and I had gotten… well… awkward since I started seeing Jimin. If he wasn’t snarky and broody enough before, it was even worse now. I’m not like those idiots in the books who don’t know how to take clues. Okay, maybe it had taken me a little bit longer than I would have liked, but when I realized he could have feelings for me, it hurt even more.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like Yoongi. On the contrary, I think I had realized my feelings for him before the ones I had for Jimin. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Jimin. I don’t know that I’d say love. I’m not one to carelessly fling around such a strong emotion, but it’s pretty close. Yet, I also care for Yoongi… a lot.

But Jimin got to me first.

The two of us had tried to partner up. It only made sense that Jimin would want me as close as possible to look after me and honestly, I felt the same way. After last time, when he’d been shot and should have died, I wasn’t fond of the idea of being apart from him.

We had tried to make it work. The first stumbling block had come with the weapons. I could fire a gun, but I couldn’t get comfortable. The kick always made me jump in surprise and it felt far too cold in my hands. The bow and a quiver of arrows had fit much more comfortably.

From there it only made sense that the two bow people in our group should stick together in case more arrows were needed or Yoongi’s bow broke.

Jimin and I had argued that we would just ride beside Yoongi, but when we attempted the new ride position, it didn’t work. Jimin sat low on his bike, making it difficult for me to look over his shoulder to shoot at any oncoming trouble. Yoongi rode straighter and seemed able to adjust to any position with ease.

Straddling Yoongi on a bike was most definitely not ideal given our current situation.

“Yoohoo,” Jimin called, waving a hand in front of my face.

I blinked away the image of Yoongi riding off and looked at the man beside me. He plopped an open faced helmet on my head and together we retreated back to our home.

* * *

 

Soft knocks jolted me from slumber. The sun was fading away, peeking between blinds that must have been drawn when I was asleep.

“Yeah?” I called groggily.

The door cracked open and Jungkook stuck his head around the wooden barrier to look at me.

“It’s time to get ready,” he whispered, though I couldn’t figure out why since I was awake now.

I nodded my head, rubbing my eyes and my friend stepped further into the room. He sat down on the edge of the bed with a heavy sigh, followed by silence.

Lids fluttered over my eyes a few times as I processed what he was trying to do.

“Everything… okay?” I asked hesitantly, still finding it weird that he hadn’t started speaking when he’d sat down.

This time, our dark eyes met and he looked at me with a face full of worry.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay with Yoongi? Are you sure you can’t just ride with Jimin or… I don’t know… Not go with either of them? Can’t you just go with me and Taehyung instead?”

I reached out a hand and placed it on his arm with a gentle smile.

“I’ll be okay, Jungkook. Don’t worry… Unless you heard that Yoongi is planning to murder me while we’re out tonight,” I joked, trying to make light of the situation.

“I’m just… I’m worried. The Eliminators always come down the hardest on those two. It’s much easier for the rest of us to avoid them.”

The door had been opened. I couldn’t let it close again.

“Why is that? Why do they target them the most?”

Jungkook looked from me to the door. He hesitated a second until he was sure we were completely alone and turned his gaze back to me.

“Do you… Do you know what happened to Yoongi’s family?” I nodded in response, hoping my silence would encourage him to continue. “Well, after they died, that’s when our two groups formed, only…” Again, his gaze looked to the door. “Only The Eliminators sought out Yoongi first. We were all friends once. Us and them. We were friends and then we weren’t. They wanted Yoongi to join but…”

Jungkook’s words were cut off by the creaking of the door and from behind it Yoongi appeared. He didn’t look too happy and it was clear he’d overheard at least a little bit of what we’d been talking about.

“Jungkook, you’re needed downstairs.”

The bed beside me lightened considerably as he practically ran out of the room. I plucked up my courage and looked at Yoongi square in the face. Silence drifted between us and for a second, I thought there was something he may say, maybe finish the story Jungkook had been telling me. Instead, he nodded his head toward the wardrobe in my room.

“Get dressed and go downstairs. We don’t have all night.”

And with that, he disappeared down the hallway.

* * *

 

There was no need for makeup, but I still put on some thick, smoky eyeshadow to match my black jeans and shirt. Wanting to avoid sticky sweat hair, I pulled it into a low ponytail and grabbed the dark leather jacket from my corner chair.

Everyone was waiting for me when I finally arrived downstairs, but luckily they were too engrossed in last minute preparations to scold me for my tardiness.

“We’ll meet here if anything goes wrong. If you get attacked or hurt, go here then call out to the others using the code word,” Namjoon instructed confidently.

I peered over the shoulders of others to where the end of his finger rested. It was near my parents’ house, though I highly doubted they would be home. They’d made it a habit to escape to the middle of nowhere on Purge Night now that I was out of the house.

A mental note was made, just in case I happened to get separated from everyone else. I was still looking at the map when a soft “whoa” cut through the air.

Startled, I glanced up to see all eyes on me.

“Yeeees?” I asked, a little concerned by what I had or hadn’t done to warrant this attention.

“Okay, okay!” Jimin said, moving to stand in front of a still confused me. “Show’s over. Let’s get on the move.”

He began pushing the others toward the door and into the garage where our loaded transportation waited. When the room was finally empty, he turned to me and crossed his arms over his chest with a childish huff.

“Why did you have to dress like that?” he whined. “Why did you put on makeup? Why are your pants so tight? Why, why, why?”

His tone had changed to such a high pitched whine, I couldn’t help but snicker behind my hand.

“No time to change now. We should go,” I giggled.

His hand slipped into mine and we walked into the garage. Engines roared to life and the two vans pulled out first, with Jungkook hanging out of the passenger side window of one, waving at me.

Jimin stopped me before I reached Yoongi’s bike and pulled me close.

“Please be careful,” he whispered in my ear. “I don’t care what happens, if we get stuck, you run and get to safety. Don’t stop and help us. Do you understand?”

I understood, but that didn’t mean I would obey. I couldn’t just leave them behind in a dangerous situation and run for it. They had done so much to protect me in the spring. I would pay them back tonight and for the rest of my life if I had to.

“You worry too much,” I whispered into his neck.

He didn’t have to know I wouldn’t do what he said. It was better that he didn’t know. So I nuzzled into him and took in the scent of his skin before we parted just slightly. He placed a sweet, gentle kiss to my lips.

“Let’s go!” Yoongi called angrily, forcing us to pull apart.

I watched as Jimin got onto his bike and kicked it to life. I slipped behind Yoongi after pulling my weapon over my shoulder. The two nodded to one another and we slipped out into the night.

By the time we arrived in the city, the Purge sirens were ending their last warning wail and for a second, the silence was deafening.


	8. Chapter Seven

The last alarm blared, sending the world around us into a momentary quiet. The silence was deafening. As if they knew what the night would bring, no crickets chirped, no leaves rustled. For once, everything was still. It would have been peaceful, if not for the fact that in just a few moments, gunshots would fill the air along with screams of innocent people dying at the hands of others. 

A shiver ran down my spine and I hurried to catch up with Jimin and Yoongi as the two pushed their bikes to the dark alley we’d mapped out. Our designated part of town didn’t seem too problematic. There were fewer casualties here than other areas of the city. We were mostly put here to keep an eye out for the Eliminators didn’t make an appearance or magically appear out of a hidden bunker. 

Considering our mode of transportation was motorbikes, we weren’t equipped to really help large parties escape. In the event that our help was needed, we would escort the helpless we picked up to our designated safe spot, where they would be picked up by the van and taken to safety. 

Yoongi pulled a flashlight from a band around his waist and shone it into the alley. It was still. Not a cat, not a rat, not a fleck of dust moved. The two of them entered with the bikes and began making use of the nearby trash to camouflage the machines. 

I was beginning to get antsy. It’d been a few minutes now since the sirens had ceased, but the quiet was still as loud as it’d been when we first arrived. Where was everyone? Not that I was feeling particularly social or anything. 

My eyes looked up and down the alley. I don’t know what made my feet move, but they took me in the direction opposite the one we’d come. As I neared the mouth, I could hear a soft rise and fall of a dainty tune.

Instantly, I was taken back to childhood, to a hot summer day when the ice cream truck would round the corner of the street, playing its happy tune as children screamed “ice cream!” in joy and waved around their dollar bill. 

Sure enough, as I inched along the brick wall and slowly peered around the edge, I could make out the still far off, brightly colored van rolling in our direction. My stomach churned as I thought about what could possibly be kept in that van and how children would be eating sweet treats from it during the summer, assuming the driver lived to sell another cone. 

Cold fingers curled around my shoulder, tickling the exposed skin of my neck just briefly enough to send a scream to the front of my lips. 

The sound was on the verge of escaping as I turned and saw Jimin with a finger raised to his lips. I should have known. 

“I called your name a few times. Are you okay?”

He peered over my shoulder at the truck and shook his head. 

“That’s disgusting and horrifying,” he whispered as he gently took my arm and guided me further back into the alley. 

“Glad to see you haven’t changed much,” Yoongi mumbled as we returned, no doubt suggesting I was still as reckless as I’d been when they found me last Purge. 

Oh how I wanted to bite back at him, but our conversation was cut short by a woman’s scream. It wasn’t just a “ah! They’ve got me! I’m going to die!” scream. She was saying a name.

“Abraham! Abraham no! Come back!”

We sprung into action, grabbing our gear and rushing to the alley’s exit. Yoongi lead the way and stopped me from leaving. He looked left, then right. Straight ahead. Surveyed all the windows of the nearby buildings. Meanwhile, behind me, Jimin looked up and behind, making sure we weren’t being followed whether by ground or rooftop. 

A long slender finger curled, indicating we were clear to go, but we weren’t as clear as I had thought. 

The ice cream truck that had been alone in the street just moments before, was now stopped, its music still echoing off buildings. The driver had excited and welded cone shaped weapon--how original. 

I thought he’d been alone originally, but a girl with multicolored hair emerged from the back with her own tool of destruction and they were headed straight for a child who was staring up at the attractive vehicle. 

“No!” I jolted out of my daze and ran. I could still hear the mother screaming, but it was clear she wouldn’t reach the boy in time. I ran as if my life depended on it, ignoring the curses that followed behind me. 

Look, I know it was reckless. I know Yoongi was probably right and even though I’d learned how to shoot a bow properly, I was still just as stupid as I was a few months ago. I get it. Sue me, but a helpless child was standing there, about to be slaughtered by a couple of psychos. I had to do something.

It felt like I was flying as I flung my body around the boy, using myself to shield him from harm. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt something thunk against my back as a quick inhale of breath broke through the haunting music. 

There was no pain. No piercing feeling as the cone shaped weapon broke through my skin. Just a light ache in the spot where I’d been hit. 

I pulled away from the boy who seemed to have come to his senses and was no crying. I looked behind me to find both the man and the woman crumpled on the ground with arrows protruding from their bodies. Dark spots began to form around the shaft and I moved to make sure the child couldn’t see what had happened. 

“Yah!” Jimin softly called as he reached us and took my cheeks in his palms. He turned my head in different directions, then put some space between us to examine the rest of my body. “Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

I blinked at him and nodded. “I’m fine,” I whispered, my eyes not looking to him but past him at Yoongi. Our eyes met briefly before he looked away and continued surveying the area for any onlookers. 

“Abraham! Oh thank God!” 

The boy’s mother finally arrived and scooped up the child who was still wailing. Her arrival stole Jimin’s attention as he looked at the pair and approached the woman who instantly backed away.

“It’s okay. We aren’t going to hurt you.” His voice was quiet and soothing and he held up empty hands in a form of surrender. “Do you have somewhere to go? Can we get you to a safe place?”

The woman clung to her son, a look of disbelief still written on her features. 

“Mommy, it’s okay! The lady saved me from the bad guys! Well, one of them was a girl!” the child said in between sniffles as he looked from his mother to me. 

She was quiet for a moment, clearly assessing the situation, before she finally spoke up. “We live near here. Well we did… Our home’s been attacked. We can’t go back. We were lucky we made it out of there, honestly. We were trying to find a hiding spot when Abraham heard the music.” 

Devastated and exhausted. That was the way the woman looked as she gave in and accepted our help. The night had already begun and she was already ready to give up. I was sure if it weren’t for Abraham, she probably would have. 

We grouped up and with the pair in tow, we walked to the alley again for use of the darkness. Yoongi pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed a number I knew all too well. It was the emergency number we had all memorized in case we were separated or something like this happened. 

“It’s me,” he spoke into the receiver in his deep tone. “We’ve got a pair.” His eyes moved from the ground to the woman and her son. “Mmm, little and keeper. Almost. Yeah, we’ll head that way. We’ll call when we’re near.” 

He finished the conversation and ended the call. He looked around at us all, and I noticed he failed to meet my eyes as he spoke. 

“We’ll take them to our spot. V said they’re not far from there and will meet us there with the van.”

“V?” the woman questioned nervously. 

“A friend of ours. He and another have a van they drive to pick people up. They’ll take you somewhere safe. We just have to meet them at our safe spot. Are you okay to walk?” Jimin informed her. 

She nodded and we set off, once again with Yoongi leading and Jimin covering the back. Looking at a map, the distance from our location to the spot wasn’t far, but considering all the zig zagging around buildings and through safer spots we had to do, it would take at least an hour. 

As we moved, I spoke with the woman. Her name was Aribella, her son Abraham was only 6. They were alone after Abraham’s father, who worked for the government, ended up dead last Purge. I told her how the guys had saved me and I’d joined them on their quest to end the Purge. 

She thanked us. 

We moved carefully, turning corners, stopping for minutes at a time when Purge parties were near. Several times we thought we’d been caught and had weapons at the ready, only for the hunters to change directions. 

It wasn’t easy, but it almost felt too easy. How had we managed to make it nearly to the safe spot on foot without so much as firing a single shot?

The phone rang.

“Ye--” Yoongi started. 

“SPOT’S BEEN COMPROMISED! REPEAT, DO NOT COME! RUN!” 

I could hear V’s voice shouting through the phone as Yoongi held it a mile away from his ear. Before the call had fizzled out, which was possibly even more terrifying than the fact that our designated meeting spot had been revealed, I had made out his last demand. 

He told us to run.


	9. Chapter Eight

Once when I was just ten years old, the kitchen in our school cafeteria had a small fire. It wasn’t really bad. They said a back corner of the vast room was covered in blank and a few appliances would need to be replaced due to fire and water damage, but it had set off the fire alarm throughout the building, as it should have. I remember all the teachers rushing us out of classrooms and out of the door. Even though the fire had been contained to one spot, there was a definitely sense of urgency that had been terrifying. We’d all been afraid the building would collapse on us or that we hadn’t practiced stop, drop, and roll enough times to follow through in a real life situation. Students were crying, teachers were gently nudging, and the alarm wailed deafeningly. The panic and fear were very real.

This was much worse.

“Shit,” Yoongi muttered as he shoved the phone back in his pants pocket and looked at us. “They could be near,” he whispered.

Jimin and I exchanged a glance. Neither of the guys had to speak for me to understand that the less Aribella and Abraham knew of the situation, the better off they would be. But, we still had to get them to safety. We had to get all of us to safety and given the fact that we were only minutes away from our designated safe spot, we most definitely were not safe.

“What’s going on?” Aribella questioned, her voice shaking as she asked.

“We need to go back,” Yoongi answered before Jimin or I could find our own voices. “We need to go back now and quickly.”

He pulled an arrow from his quiver and started walking. Jimin followed the action and pulled out the gun from his belt and checked his rounds before clicking off the safety. Quietly, he nodded his head at me.

“Let’s walk together,” I whispered to Aribella, trying to ease the tension she was clearly feeling.

I was thankful when she didn’t argue. We began moving at a brisk pace back the way we’d come, but this time we were all a little more alert and aware of our surroundings.

“Have you lived here long?” I broke the silence to ask the woman beside me, hoping quiet small talk could help to not only pass the time, but distract her mind from the threat we were possibly facing.

“Most of my life,” she started after a moment of hesitation. “My family moved here when I was in middle school. I met my husband in high school.” A smile crept across her face as she shifted Abraham from one arm to another. “I had never believed in all that high school sweetheart talk but, I guess it really does exist.”

Even I couldn’t fight the smile that sneaked its way onto my features as we moved.

“You must have loved each other very much.”

Her response came in a nod and her eyes grew glassy. She opened her mouth to speak but I never found out what it was she was going to say.

A gunshot broke through the air as flecks of brick sprung out at us from the building we’d been walking along. All it took was a quick glance over my shoulder to know we were in trouble.

We had already known the safety spot had been blown. We knew it was all too possible, and honestly probable, that they would catch up with us sooner or later. I think we’d all been praying for a miracle, holding out hope that maybe, just maybe we could get away without being seen.

It was silly to hope for such things on Purge Night.

“Run!” Jimin yelled from behind us as he turned to fire his gun over his shoulder.

And we did.

From beside me, Aribella took off at lightening speed with Abraham howling in her arms. I followed, reaching for an arrow from my quiver as I went. Yoongi and Jimin stopped, firing their weapons in hopes of buying us a little more time.

Another gunshot split the air and I saw Aribella fall with a scream. Blood began oozing from a wound on her leg. Her fall had flung Abraham out of her arms and he sat beside her, still letting out wails, especially now that his mother had been hurt.

“Take him…” she cried out. “Take him and go! Please! Leave me!” She held her leg tightly, but I knew there was no hope. There would be no surviving that wound, not when we had no way of getting her somewhere to patch it up fast enough. Especially not while we were being attacked.

My hesitation had been long enough for the guys to catch up. Jimin slowed and scooped up the crying child who stretched his arms out, reaching out for his mother. He turned and thrashed in Jimin’s grasp, but there was no release.

“Go, please!” Aribella cried softly, her eyes pleading with me to save myself.

“There has to be a way,” I mumbled as another shot fired off and went who knew where.

A bloodied hand reached out and shoved me away as the woman urged me to run. Catching up, Yoongi grabbed my arm and began to drag me off until I finally found my own feet.

“Ah!” Jimin cried out.

I looked to him in time to see the child fall from his grasp. He was too fast for me or Yoongi to catch him.

“Abraham! No!”

But I couldn’t go. Yoongi was unrelenting in his grip, now on my wrist as he yanked me ahead.

“We have to help them!” I screamed at him, though my feet still carried me forward. “We have to go back and save them! Yoongi, please! We can save them!”

Whether he heard me or not, I didn’t know. He continued to pull me from one side and Jimin, after rubbing the bite on his arm, joined on the other.

We rounded into a dark alley and slowed for a moment, just as three gunshots filled the air. A heavy sob wracked my body as Jimin’s warm arms wrapped around me and pulled me to his chest.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“We have to keep going,” Yoongi cut in, his voice sounding much more distressed and darker than usual.

When I looked up, I could see a glistening in his eyes and knew even he was holding back tears.

We walked down the alley and I forced myself to dry up. When I finally came to at the mouth of our temporary hiding place, I couldn’t believe what I saw.

“Take a left,” I whispered, taking control of the directions. I continued to lead them down a few streets into a neighborhood until a dark house came into view.

“Come on,” I waved a hand and ran up the driveway without explaining. When we got near the porch, I looked up and down the street. “Cover me.” I knelt down and pulled a smooth, dark gray rock from the ground. Attached was an old prescription medicine bottle and inside was a gold key.

“It’s still there,” I whispered in amazement.

“Not to be that person, but we need to hide…” Yoongi urged with a noticeable note of confusion in his voice.

I pulled out the key and slid it into the lock on the front door. There was a click followed by the creaking of the hinges and the sound of an alarm chirping. I hurried in to stop the alert before it sent out a message to some creepy purger sitting behind the computer at the security company. No good would come out of someone making a check up call.

The guys followed me in and locked the door behind me. Yoongi peered out the window, watching the street while Jimin walked through the house to make sure it was secure. Meanwhile, in the safety of the home, I felt my resolve crumble again.

It had taken everything in me to pull myself together while on the streets. I’d had to, but now, I felt all the walls falling away.

“They’re dead, aren’t they?” I asked Yoongi, not really seeking an answer since I already knew it. “Those gunshots were for them.”

He kept his back to me, still staring out the window.

“There was no way we could have saved them. I was stupid for thinking that. I was stupid out there. I could have gotten all of us killed. But… He was just a child, Yoongi. They killed a child,” I choked out, hot tears sliding down my cheeks again.

I mimicked their action and slid down the wall, burying my face in my hands. My sobs were quiet and muffled by my hidden face. Though I knew there wasn’t any more we could have done save for sacrificing ourselves along with them, I still felt guilty. I saw Aribella’s helpless, pleading face in my mind telling me to run. I saw Abraham running away from Jimin after a deep bite to his arm. I heard the shots that were fired and wondered whether they’d missed once or whether one of them had fought harder than had been expected.

An arm slipped over my shoulders. When I didn’t look up, it tightened and I was pulled slightly into a body. The scent was different from Jimin’s and I knew it wasn’t him. I didn’t care. I was thankful for the silence Yoongi provided in that moment. He didn’t try to spew out useless comforting words. He didn’t say everything would be okay or stroke my hair. He just sat there with an arm around me in silence until footsteps could be heard approaching the stairs.

The house felt colder when he moved away from me and back to the window, but I understood the arrival of Jimin on that scene could have made things awkward and uncomfortable for all of us.

“The house is clear,” he whispered to us, even though it was unnecessary. “Are you okay?” he asked when he saw me in my slightly crumpled state.

Again, I swiped away at the tears on my cheeks and nodded. “Just tired,” I choked out.

He came over and helped me up, but the second he did, Yoongi was shoving us both back to the floor against the locked door. We soon realized why.

A light shone in through the window of the door, scanning the entrance foyer. I saw it move away and go the window in the dining room.

“I don’t think they’re here,” we heard a voice call from outside.

“We’ve got company,” another replied.

The light disappeared but we still held our breaths. Straining our ears, the sounds of whooping and hollering could be heard from somewhere down the street. Though we couldn’t make them out, words were exchanged before they grew violent and, what I could only imagine happened, a fight broke out.

“Yah,” Jimin whispered. “Is there a safe room here?”

Coming to my senses, I nodded tiredly.

Still worried about the possibility of someone checking in on the house, we moved along the walls away from windows and view of them. We reached the staircase and I opened the closet beneath it. I crawled in first and urged them to follow me.

“This… is the safe room?” Yoongi remarked.

I ignored him and pushed along the opposite wall until I felt a small crack. I dug my nails into it and pried it away from the wall.

“Flashlight.”

There was a click and a small beam of light found the spot on the wall. A lock like that found on a safe appeared in the light. I twisted it a few times until there was a click. The wall gave way to a small crawl space that opened to a much larger room.

Gently, I pushed on Jimin and Yoongi’s backs until they went inside. I followed behind and pulled the door closed behind me with excessive tugging.

“We’ll be safe here,” I huffed and turned to face them.

If I wasn’t exhausted after the night we’d already had, I probably would have laughed at the look on their faces. Both of them stared at me with a million questions swimming in their eyes.

“I’m sorry for asking, but is your family made from money?” Jimin asked.

This time, a little snort did leave me as I shook my head. “No,” I replied and moved to turn on one of the battery operated lanterns. It came to life and dimly lit the room.

Jimin clicked off the flashlight and the two of them moved around the room, lighting up a few of the other lanterns until the room was lit in a warm glow.

The safe room was small and humble, but well furnished. A bed sat along one wall, a couch along the other. There was a bookshelf stacked with books, old magazines, and board games. A dresser rested near the entrance door with blankets, extra clothes that probably didn’t fit anymore, and a drawer with medicine and first aid kit. There was no kitchen unit, but cans of soup and fruit, along with a box of unopened crackers sat atop the dresser--beside it, an unopened package of water bottles. There was a tiny closet sized room off in the corner with a drain in the floor and a bucket. The unfinished bathroom.

“Are you sure you didn’t come from money?” Jimin asked again.

“I’m sure.”

I sat on the edge of the bed and Jimin joined me while Yoongi continued looking around.

“My parents saved up and built this room and furnished it. When we first used it, there was nothing here. After our first purge inside, we added the bookshelf and the blankets. We used to sleep on blanket pallets on the floor until they bought me a new bed and put the old one in here. Over the years, we added a little more to the room. It’s still not done, but my parents don’t care anymore. Now that I’m out of the house, they’ve decided to plan vacations around the Purge. They go somewhere no one will find them. They’re probably on some island right now.”

I can’t help but let out a bitter laugh, wishing my parents had taken me with them.

“They don’t know what you’re doing, do they?” Jimin asked cautiously.

My gaze looked to the floor and I shook my head. “They don’t. It’s better this way. It’s better that my mother thinks I’m safe somewhere instead of out roaming the streets.”

He sighed and fell back into the bed, putting an arm over his eyes. I was thankful the conversation had ended there. I didn’t want to argue with Jimin about the situation. I knew he thought I should be honest with them, that they deserved to know, but I stood firmly by my belief that they were better off not knowing.

I looked up at Yoongi who was browsing the bookshelf collection, pulling out a book to look at the cover before sliding it back. That was when I noticed the gash on his arm. I glanced over at Jimin, noticing the steady rise and fall of his chest and knew if he wasn’t asleep yet, he would be soon. I held my tongue until I heard the familiar suck of air that indicated he’d drifted off. He must have been just as exhausted as we were. Though sleep sounded ideal, I knew there was no way I would be able to drift off after everything. I would let Jimin sleep though. We wouldn’t be here all night. We had to check on the other guys and we had to get back out there. We couldn’t just hide, but while we did, I would let him rest.

Careful not to moved the bed too much, I slipped off it and approached Yoongi. My fingers curled gently around his arm, taking him by surprise. I placed my pointer finger against my lips and nodded to Jimin, but knowing I had his attention, I shifted my gaze to the wound.

“It’s fine,” he whispered casually.

“It could get infected,” I quipped back.

“It’s just a cut.”

 

“It could still get infected, Yoongi.”

It was a losing fight and he knew it. I left him to take out the first aid kit from the dresser. In a demanding way, I pointed to the sofa and he sat without arguing. I perched beside him and opened the kit, feeling his eyes on me the whole time. I took out some alcohol and q-tips and twisted open the bottle.

“I’m pretty sure this wasn’t how Jimin was expecting his first time at your family home to go,” he whispered with just a hint of bitterness.

I felt my hands pause for a moment before I composed myself and bit back. “And I’m pretty sure this wasn’t how you were expecting it would go either.”

It took everything in me to will myself to look at him following the words. His eyes were wide, as if some great big secret had been exposed. He must not have realized how obvious his jealousy had become.

While he was still in shock, I stuck the alcohol covered q-tip to the wound, receiving a hiss in exchange. There was something nice about inflicting slight pain on him. After all, he’d been acting like a complete ass toward me since Jimin and I had started dating. Then again, he’d always been an ass, but that was beside the point now.

“You know,” he started quietly. “I’m glad you never took that jacket off when the fire broke out. It was my favorite one.”

He was, of course, talking about the very jacket on my body now. It was the same black leather jacket he’d draped over us last Purge when he’d used it to shroud me in darkness. I remembered how close we had been in that moment, remembered the desire I’d felt.

The same desire I found swelling up within me now.

For a moment, I forgot where I was and who I was with. I forgot about the deaths I felt were on my shoulders. Forgot about hiding in the safe room at my parents’ house. Forgot Jimin sleeping on the bed and that I was very much his. For just a moment, it was just me and Yoongi, and I was suddenly very aware of how close we were sitting.

Our eyes locked on one another, and as if being pulled by some unseen force, I felt as if my body was leaning toward his.

That's when the phone in his pocket started to ring.


	10. Chapter Nine

The sounds of the gunshots and screams were overwhelming. I watched a man raise a shotgun and fire. It was as if everything moved in slow motion as the shell burst from the weapon. A small flash, like a little mini sun, sprang forth and the ammo headed to its target. It hit Jungkook square in the chest, sending his body falling backward as his blood painted his shirt crimson red.

All around me the others were dropping one by one. I stood helpless, unsure what to do at this point. We were fighting a losing war. I’d long ago run out of arrows to shoot and Yoongi had since resorted to a small pistol that he fired off as quickly as he could while running toward me.

Our eyes locked and he shouted something at me, but no sound came from his lips. I urged him to say it again, but every time he tried, I was met not by his voice, but by the silence. Just a few more steps and he would be upon me, no doubt dragging me away from the dangerous scene.

In an instant, things changed. Instead of running, he was falling forward, into my arms. Despite his weight, I caught him and slowly brought him down with me. His breathing was ragged and the color in his eyes was fading quickly to nothing. Still he looked up at me and parted his lips one more time.

“Run,” he breathed. “Run... from…” His body crumpled into my hold, going heavy.

“Run from what, Yoongi?” I hurriedly replied. It was useless. I knew he was gone already. I pulled away to see blood on my hands, sticky and warm from his body. 

A scream left me as I backed away, into another warm puddle. Jin’s. Using the last strength he had, he pulled me close to him.

“Run,” he whispered into my ear with a shaky voice.

I finally found my feet, looking around as I did. Taehyung still fought, but I knew it wouldn’t be long until he too dropped, just like Jin, Jungkook, Hobi, Namjoon, and Yoongi had. His body would fall to the asphalt and crumple up in a pool of his blood. The warmth would wrap him like a blanket and lull him to sleep, only he would never wake up again. It was only a matter of time.

But where was Jimin?

My eyes searched first the dead then the living. My lips parted and whispered his name with hope, but I didn’t get a response. I flipped over bodies of people I didn’t know or recognize, I scoured my dead colleagues for weapons or any possible sign of where he could be.

Taehyung still stood, blood seeping through his shirt at his arm, but he still fought. He was buying me time.

“Jimin?” I called again.

Cold fingers latched around my arm tightly, pulling me away from the scene. I watched as Taehyung and the Eliminators grew smaller and smaller, his wounds becoming more and more with each step I took.

“I have to save him,” I called to my captor. “I have to save Taehyung and find Jimin!”

At this, the hand around my arm yanked me around, forcing my gaze to meet his.

Jimin looked angry and his movements were far too aggressive compared to his usual gentle nature. His lips were drawn tightly and his face lingered inches from mine, making his rough breath tickle my skin. Where I would once lean in to press my lips to his, I cowered back, tried to put space between us, but he wouldn’t let me go.

His gaze held mine, forcing me to search his face. Something wasn’t right. He wasn’t dressed like he usually would, his hair was dark and styled in a way that wasn’t him. What was worse was the look in his eyes. Cold, steely, there was no sparkle of hope or happiness lingering in the pools of dark brown. It was almost as if he was dead.

“Run,” he hissed between gritted teeth. “Run and don’t look back or you’ll regret it.”

As he let go of my arm, he shoved me away and pointed down the quiet street.

“Go.”

I didn’t wait for another response. My feet knew what to do and began carrying me far away from the scene I’d watched unfold. Away from Taehyung, whose shouts of self-encouragement had died away soon after. Away from Yoongi’s lifeless form. Away from the stranger Jimin.

* * *

 

A scream rocked my body awake, sending the blanket around me flying across the room.

“What’d you do to her, Jungkook?”

I looked up and found a pair of wide brown eyes staring at me in shock, his hands raised toward his face in surrender, concern etched over his features.

“I just shook her a little! You told me to wake her!” he called back.

“Told you we should have let her sleep a little longer,” came Jimin’s voice from nearby.

My palms brushed across my face, mixing smeared make-up with a cold sweat. It was just a dream, I told myself over and over again. Several deep breaths in my hands later, I allowed myself to look around and take in all the faces. They were all here. All of them were okay. No one was hurt.

Jimin knelt down next to the sofa and searched my face. Without a thought, my hands plastered onto his cheeks, forcing him to stay still.

“What? What is it?” he asked nervously.

His hair was normal, clothes the usual, and his eyes held their all too familiar glow of light and goodness in them. This was the Jimin I knew and loved. My arms moved around his neck and I pulled him toward me, burying my face in his skin. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, holding back the hot tears that wanted to spill from them.

“You’re alright!” I whispered. “You’re you.”

I didn’t really find any of this funny, but a chuckle rose in his throat as he rubbed my back gently and agreed it was true.

A throat cleared from the other side of the room. We pulled apart to find everyone staring at us, Namjoon a small smile on his face.

“Not to ruin a moment or anything, but we need to get on with the plan and get out of here. We don’t want to bring any bad luck to her parents by getting their house ransacked, smeared in blood, or burnt to the ground,” he casually spewed.

“Comforting,” I whispered.

I realized we were still in my parents’ bunker room. The last thing I remembered was Yoongi’s phone ringing, forcing us apart from a potential mistake I could have made. My eyes found him across the room and our gazes met for a second before he looked away and a light blush tinted my cheeks.

With a crack of my neck I sat up on the sofa, willing myself to forget about what had almost transpired. There was no sense in dwelling on it. Nothing had happened. I didn’t do anything wrong. He answered his phone and I gave into the overwhelming exhaustion I’d been feeling after the deaths of Abraham and Aribella.

My heart sunk at the thought of the mother and son. We could have saved them. We could have done more.

I knew the guilt would stick with me for a long time. This wasn’t like when I’d shot at the Eliminator guy last Purge. He’d been after us, targeting us, trying to kill us. Aribella and her son were innocent. They had done nothing wrong. They didn’t deserve the fates they’d met.

It must have shown on my face what I was thinking about. Next thing I knew, Jungkook lifted me to my feet and wrapped a single arm around my shoulders, pulling me gently to him.

“You’ll adjust to it eventually. The first time it happens is never easy, but you’ll get there,” he whispered comfortingly into my ear. “I know it doesn’t help anything saying this, but know it’s not your fault.”

He ran a hand through my hair with one last squeeze before he stepped away and followed Taehyung and Hobi who were already crawling out of the hiding place. Yoongi and Jimin stood on either side of the door, waiting while the rest left. I took one last long glance around the familiar room, stopping on an old family photo on the bookshelf before heading toward the exit.

* * *

 

The cool night air tickled my skin, welcoming me back to it as I locked the door of the house and hid the key. The others waited in the shadows, looking up and down the street.

“It took us an hour just to get to the house from the next road. They were everywhere. Must have followed a scent or something,” Hobi whispered to me.

I realized he meant the Eliminators. They’d followed us here, had somehow managed to find the right road, just never which house.

“Surprised they didn’t just light them all up,” I mumbled back to him as I stepped away from the door.

“They had others to deal with,” he replied, nodding his head down the road a few houses to a dark spot in a neighbor’s yard. A pile of bodies I realized. A shiver crept down my spine. That could have been us--it almost was.

“Let’s move,” Namjoon called quietly to the group.

We moved in the shadows, sticking to walls of houses, ducking beneath windows, hiding behind bushes and small clusters of trees. They’d parked the van a road over after stopping to retrieve Yoongi and Jimin’s bikes. Convenient. They’d certainly thought of everything.

“Your house is quaint,” Hobi said from my side with a grin. Despite his bright look, his eyes still darted around, looking for any signs of trouble. “I especially liked the photo on the wall where you were missing your front two teeth. Adorable.”

I threw a light punch at his arm and shook my head. It was just like him to try and make light of dark situations. I guessed now was as good at time as any since the world was silent and even though gunfire could be heard, it sounded miles away from where our little party moved.

“Why didn’t they just light the whole street up?” I finally asked. The question had been eating at me since I’d first spoke the words. It didn’t seem like the Eliminators to hold themselves back. Besides, it was Purge Night. Why not go all out?

Hobi shrugged, his smile falling into something a little more serious and his brows furrowing deep in thought. “I wondered that too, honestly. We knew these guys well. They love this. They have no regrets or sympathy. Why didn’t they just burn every last house and finish off two of our stronger members?” He hesitated a moment, the gears in his head clearly grinding in concentration. “I think they’re after something, or someone. They didn’t want to burn the houses because they want to take one of us for torturing or to lure the others in or because Jimin or Yoongi has something they want,” he shrugged again. “That’s the best answer I can come up with. There’s no real way to know unless we ask but who’s gonna do that?”

Something or someone they want? Torture? Luring others in? My feet stopped moving and I stared at Hobi’s back as he walked a few more steps ahead. Jimin and Yoongi stopped on either side of me after having taken rear guard. Hobi too eventually stopped and looked over his shoulder.

“Me?” I whispered, my eyes staring at him. “Is it me?”

I looked away and to Jimin on my left, then to Yoongi on my right. It was too easy to see. If they took me, both of them would come for me. Not just them, the others too. We were a family. We’d grown close to one another. But, they knew the two men beside me had my heart more than the others. They knew with me in captivity these two would be the first to walk into the trap--never mind that they would know it was a trap already. They weren’t stupid by any means, but there was no question in my mind they would do it to save me.


	11. Chapter Ten

A cold shiver ran down my spine as I glanced around the corner of the dark alley I hid in. I wasn’t prepared for this. I wasn’t confident enough. As my back pressed against the cool brick again, I heaved a quiet sigh, my hands running up and down my arms in a comforting manner.

I could still feel Jimin’s warmth on my body from the parting hug we’d shared. I’d clung to him. I’d felt the anger twitching in his muscles over this last minute plan. 

I couldn’t blame him. I wasn’t exactly keen on the idea myself, but it was too late now. My feet moved back further into the alley, the darkness swallowing me whole. With another great sigh, and a four worded pep talk under my breath, I took off, running as fast as I could out of the alley and into the street.

I ran until I thought I was close enough to the group of Eliminators but still far enough away to be safe and skidded to a half. My chest rose and fell heavily from both exertion and fear. I was face to face with our enemy, well part of our enemy.

It was as Namjoon had suspected. They were only a few of the larger group. Good. That would make this a lot easier.

“Well, well,” cooed one of them. He slipped off his bike--one I recognized all too well from what felt like the million chases we’d encountered with them--and walked toward me. His pupils dilated as he scanned me up and down, admiring what he saw. I heard Jimin’s questioning voice from earlier in my head as he’d tried to snuff out the jealousy and protectiveness he felt when he’d seen me. I wish I had changed.

I could feel my fists clenching at my side in anger that could easily be seen as a protective stance. My mind struggled with my heart, reminding it now wasn’t the time to show my anger, but to draw out the fear I’d felt earlier when this plan had been drawn up.

“They’re after me!” I called, choking out the rehearsed words. “Please! You have to help me!”

The words were so ridiculous, I almost slipped up and laughed. I didn’t know the Eliminators well, but I knew them well enough to know I wouldn’t be getting any help. Not from them. Even if I did, the payment that would be due would have me wishing I’d died at the hands of my invisible chasers.

He got closer, his brows furrowing. From behind him, a girl with a knotted mane followed. Unlike the man’s distracted toward the alley gaze, hers studied me carefully. Though I didn’t know her name, nor did I recognize her, there was a spark of recognition in her eyes. Everything had gone accordingly up to this point. This was when the plan got a bit hazy and uncertain.

The man had finally reached me and his eyes were back on me now, glancing first at my chest, then at my face. I took a step back, this time not acting, and reached into my pockets, pulling the unzipped jacket across my front in a protective manner. My legs bumped into something rough and I had to stop myself from falling backward over the bench on the sidewalk. I was cornered.

“Who would want to kill such a pretty thing like you?” he asked, catching up to me and stretching out a hand. His fingers traced along my jawline while a sick smile stretched across his lips. “I can think of much better things to do instead,” he whispered in my ear.

“Oi!” the girl called behind him. With each step the man had taken, she’d followed behind, still trying to place me. “It’s her! She’s the girl that’s with them!” Her finger stuck out and she looked from the back of the man I longed to spit on, to the other few lingering behind watching. “It’s the girl with the Resistors! Kill her! We have to kill--”

She never finished her sentence. An arrow zipped through the air and connected with her heart, sending her crumpling to the ground.

“Shit!” the man said, sending small drops of spit into my face.

It was the cherry on top of the sundae for me. My hands slipped out of my pockets. One grabbed onto him while the other plunged a knife into his gut once, twice, three times until he backed away. My hands were warm with his blood as I reached up and wiped the spit and few splatters of blood off my face with the sleeve of the jacket.

When I looked up, the others had emerged from their hiding spots and were locked in a battle that would surely be easily won. Or so I thought.

After dealing with one of the Eliminators, Jimin ran over to me, catching me right as my legs began to give out on me. I didn’t regret killing the man, but the proximity of the act, the way his blood stained my skin, and the hilt of the knife still in my grasp were overwhelming.

“Hey,” he gently whispered, his arms supporting me as my body fell into him. “You’re okay now.” One hand reached up and rubbed my back and for a moment, I felt relieved.

“We’ve got company!” Taehyung called out from not far off.

We parted and looked up to see a van, much like our own, pulling up and bodies pouring out of it, followed by a few more bikes. This was not part of the plan.

* * *

There in the middle of the street where my home sat darkened by the dangerous night, we all stopped and all eyes were drawn to me.

“It’s me they want, isn’t it?” I asked Hobi, hoping he would deny my suspicions. But just as I’d done moments before when it’d hit me, his eyes looked to my left, then my right before returning to me full of sadness.

Panic swallowed me whole. If it was me they wanted, I couldn’t stay with them. I was putting them in danger! Though, I supposed it’d be worse if I was to walk away now. Still, I couldn’t think rationally as my legs folded beneath me and I become a small little ball in the roadway.

My fingers laced through my hair and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to fight the urge to cry. I was tired, emotional, and right now I felt weak. I just wanted to go somewhere dark and alone and let it all out.

A hand found my back and I could sense Jimin’s presence squatting down beside me. “What do you mean they want you?” he asked cautiously, not understanding my words.

“They want to take me and use me against you,” I cried from my knees. “They’re after me.”

His arms swallowed me whole, pulling me to him and holding me tight. It was enough to pull me out of my shell and my fingers grasped helplessly at his shirt front.

“You don’t know that,” Yoongi mumbled gently behind me. “They’ve been after us for a long time now. They could use any one of us against the rest. They have no reason to target you as a captive.

But even as he said it, I could hear the doubt in his voice. I was weak. I’d just joined the group and still had much to learn. I would be an easy catch.

“Would you be willing to test this?” Namjoon’s voice sounded sure as he asked. “Would you be willing to trust us and see if it really is you they want?”

“No way!” I felt Jimin shift, lifting his gaze to stare hard at his friend. “There’s no way we will do anything to intentionally put her in harm’s way.”

“She’s in harm’s way just by associating with us, Jimin,” Yoongi muttered under his breath. He sighed up into the air followed by a curse. “He’s right, Jimin. We can’t make her, but if she’s willing, we should know if they’re after her.”

Jimin’s hold tightened on me protectively. Despite my eyes still being shut tightly, I could feel his body move and could see his head shaking desperately against my eyelids.

“Look,” Namjoon started with a sigh. “We’ll come up with the plan first. She can decide after that, but you can’t speak for her, Jimin.”

He sucked in a breath to argue against the idea again. “Okay,” I called out from his chest. “Okay.”

I pulled away just slightly and looked up into his eyes so full of sadness and disbelief and something else. Fear. Despite everything we’d been through, I couldn’t remember seeing his dark orbs so full of emotion like they were now.

“I’ll make a decision after I hear the plan, but if I don’t like it, you’re not going to force me into it,” I replied, my eyes still locked on Jimin.

“Okay,” Namjoon agreed.

We stood and began making our way back to the van as originally planned. It was out of sight and in a quiet place. I was surprised at how they’d managed to find such an ideal location. Inside were the two bikes driven by Jimin and Yoongi. The guys pulled them out first before we all piled into the back and Namjoon began to voice his idea.

“We know where they like to set up camp and trap people. We know where their routes are--for the most part,” he corrected after a sharp gaze from Jimin. He rolled out our map and pointed a finger at a street not too far from here. “There’s almost always a small group of them here, small enough that we can take them out easily. The Eliminators are many, but they are weak. They don’t train them all properly like we do.” He pointed to some of the buildings lining the road. “We’ve got contacts here and here. That’ll give us roof access. Yoongi and Taehyung will set up from above in those spots. The rest of us will cover the ground.”

He paused to make sure he was pointing out the locations right and thoroughly explaining himself before he looked up at me. “You’ll come in from this alley. You’ll pretend you’re being chased and ask for help. You have to make it believable or they’ll kill you instantly.”

The silence in the van was suffocating following the words. Believable acting? I wasn’t great at lying or faking things. Would I really be able to pull that off?

“If you succeed, they’ll hold off, thinking there’s a group after you. You have to make them believe there’s more than one person of their attention will focus on you and you won’t get any more words in.”

“What’s the point in this?” Jimin asked crossly. “How is any of that supposed to tell us whether they’re targeting her or not? All it’s doing is delaying her death.”

“Exactly,” the leader replied. “It’s delaying her death. It’s giving them time to see her and place her. If they don’t recognize her, we kill them and get her out of there. She’s not the target. If they do place her… well…”

“There’s a hole in your plan,” I finally chimed in. “If they recognize me, they’ll be interested. They’ll either take me hostage or kill me for being one of you. You can’t guarantee you’ll be able to help me in time,” I whispered nervously. “I can’t go in there with a weapon. A gun will be too noticeable with my attire, and my bow would be way too obvious. I can’t protect myself, and you can’t guarantee you can either.”

He was quiet for a moment, lost in thought. “Maybe we can’t be 100% sure,” he started.

“And what if more of them show up?” Jimin tacked onto my own doubts. “What if more show up and we’re outnumbered? Not only could she be killed, we could be too.”

“Look,” he cut in. “It’s not perfect. No plan will be. But I have faith in Taehyung and Yoongi from above to make sure they get any shots dead on.”

“No pressure,” Yoongi muttered from the corner where he’d sat quietly until now with his arms crossed.

“They’ll be able to see attacks coming from a better vantage point. They’ll be able to predict movements better than those of us on the ground. Not to mention, they’re two of our best shots. I firmly believe with their locations where they are, they’ll at least be able to buy a little time for her to get away if she needs to. And,” he branched off onto another thought. “You won’t be going in helpless.”

From beneath where he sat, he pulled out an old box and yanked the lid open. He shuffled around in the contents until he produced a knife. “This will fit in your pocket and be unnoticeable. Should you need to use it, you can.”

The weapon fell onto my fingers and glistened in the dim light of the van.

“I can’t guarantee more won’t come. I can’t guarantee we’ll get any answers out of this. I can’t guarantee we won’t get hurt. We will do damage to the Eliminators though. We’ll be striking first this time. Aren’t you tired of always being the hunted? They won’t be expecting this. I think we can pull this off and find out what we need to know.”

Jimin sighed heavily from beside me, shaking his head again. Yoongi’s fingers rubbed against his chin and Hobi stared quietly at the map.

No one seemed overly excited to be doing this. No one seemed overly confident, including Namjoon, but I could see a fight building up in them. I could see they were considering it.

“Ah,” I heaved in a defeated manner. “I’ll do it.”

“WHAT? YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!” Jimin roared from beside me.

“Yes, there are flaws in the plan. Some are hard to ignore, but I also can’t imagine carrying on without knowing whether or not I should stick with you guys.”

“Wait… What?”

It seemed my words caught his attention as he sat up and put his palms on his knees.

“If they’re after me and really are targeting me,” I began as tears welled up in my eyes. “If that really is what they’re doing, I’m putting all of you in danger by sticking around. If they really do want to use me to get to you all, I should leave and cut off ties all together. Disappear from your lives.”

“That’s stupid! Why would you do that? Yoongi even said it earlier, they could use any one of us against the other!”

I stared hard at him, my lips pulled tight to show how serious I was about this. “It’s not stupid to me, Jimin. It’s not about whether or not they can use you against each other. It’s about the fact that I don’t think I could carry on if I knew they were trying to use me specifically. I know it doesn’t make sense to you,” I looked away at the rest of the van, “or if any of you really understand what I’m getting at, but I need to know. I have to know if it’s me, Jimin.”

The vehicle was quiet for a moment before Namjoon broke the silence. “Okay. If anyone has anything else to say, say it now.”

No one spoke. It was a silent agreement, even if some were reluctant, to give the plan a shot. Words were no longer needed as three of us climbed out of the van and loaded onto the bikes. This time, I didn’t ride with Yoongi. It was Jimin’s bike I slipped onto as his grip on my arm was relentless. I pressed my cheek into his warm back as we drove into the night and parked a short distance away from my starting point.

“Remember,” Jimin said quietly, his hands on my neck and his gaze locked with mine. “I’ll be close. If anything feels wrong, you just give the signal and I’ll be there. You’ve got the knife?”

My fingers fumbled around in my pocket for the hilt and I nodded slowly, never breaking away from his gaze.

“Okay. You’ll be okay. We all will. Just remember to listen for the gunshot and run in as if you’re being chased. I believe in you,” he whispered the final words to me before leaning in and gently pressing his lips to mine.

The kiss was far too short but I knew there was no time to waste. If we were lucky, there’d be plenty of time for acts of affection later.

He pulled away from me after a hug and started to head toward his designated spot. Yoongi had already disappeared from view and I was left alone.

* * *

“JIMIN WE NEED YOU!” Jin yelled from nearby as the new Eliminators came at our group. He parted from me and disappeared into the fray, leaving behind a dread I couldn’t get rid of. What if one of them hurt him? What if one of them killed him?

Sounds of nearby fighting snapped me from my little daze. Yoongi was locked in a hand to hand combat with a guy who was much bigger, but seemed much weaker and definitely stupider. I watched as Yoongi raised a fist and plunged it into the side of the man’s face, giving just a small window for him to put a little more space between them.

The worry and dread returned. Sure, I was worried for all the guys as I stood there looking like a helpless, lost puppy, but I realized my fears were much stronger for only two of them.

Having lost track of Jimin, I set my sights on Yoongi’s challenger. Just a few feet away rested the familiar bow and quiver of arrows, no doubt flung from his hold when all hell broke loose. My fingers familiarized themselves with the weapon as I took aim and let an arrow fly. Had it not been for fear of hurting Yoongi, I may have done more damage than just lodging the arrow into the shoulder, but it was distraction enough for my partner in crime to pull a knife from his body and finish the job.

Our eyes met and I could tell from his gaze he was thanking me, even if he would never say it.

“Aye! Get her out of here!” Jimin yelled from behind me. I could tell he was in the middle of fighting by the way his breath caught and grunts of physical exertion interrupted his demand.

I wasn’t given a chance to argue. Yoongi’s fingers wrapped around my wrist and tugged me away from the fight, away from our friends, away from Jimin. We ran to the spot where the bikes were hidden and he kicked the stand on his. It took no time for it to roar to life and helmets forgotten, we were long gone from the scene faster than ever.

My arms wrapped around his middle tightly, embracing him from behind as I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to see all the events from the night again. The sun would be making an appearance in an hour or two and we’d all be home free, if we could all last that long.

“We’re just going to drive,” I heard Yoongi call out above the wind. “Don’t want to lead them back to our place.”

His voice was gentler than usual and I wondered if he regretted leaving them behind. Still, I took the opportunity to let a few tears fall from my cheeks. I cried from exhaustion. I cried for the new friends we had made and then lost. I cried for the ones we’d left behind. I cried for myself, feeling more like a coward than ever before. They say sometimes you just need a good cry to feel better and in the early morning hours, I felt my shoulders lighten.

* * *

“It’s just a scratch!” Jungkook argued. We were fighting against one another. I grabbed his arm. He pulled it away and waved it out of reach. I scolded him. He whined and assured me it was nothing.

“Okay, it’s a scratch… but it needs to be disinfected!” It was only a moment of hesitation but it gave me the chance I needed. I locked his arm in my grasp and poured alcohol over the cut, listening triumphantly as he yelped from the sting. I finished it with a band aid and sent him on his way.

The others had returned home not long after Yoongi and I had. We’d sat side by side in silence on the sofa. I don’t know when I had done it, but at some point I’d taken his hand, seeking comfort. He hadn’t denied me.

As soon as the back door had opened and they all stumbled in, as soon as I saw they were all still alive I felt myself slink. Other than fixing them up and tending to any wounds, they were alive. They were okay. Everyone was here and okay.

An hour and a half later, I dragged my feet up the stairs toward my bedroom. I needed a shower. I needed to change, but all I wanted was my bed and a pair of arms around me.

The door was cracked open and as soon as I pushed it open, I saw why. Jimin and Yoongi sat on the bed looking at one another. I don’t know what kind of conversation I’d interrupted, but it seemed serious. They gazed at me and Yoongi cleared his throat.

“I’ll be going now.”

He slipped off the bed and made to exit the room, but my fingers curled around his arm. My eyes locked on Jimin’s hoping he would understand.

“Both of you stay?” I asked, though it wasn’t so much asking as a soft demand. “Please.”

Though I didn’t see them, I could felt Yoongi’s gaze widen with his eyes before he looked to Jimin. A silent conversation occurred before both sighed simultaneously. Had I not been so tired and worn, I may have giggled.

Yoongi turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, clearly feeling uncomfortable with this arrangement. Jimin too didn’t seem pleased, and I knew neither of them would understand. Even I couldn’t fully understand my heart, but I knew I was exhausted and afraid. I knew any dreams I had would be riddle with pain and sadness. I knew the only comfort I would find was in knowing they would be right there beside me.


	12. Christmas Interlude

There’s a voice singing in my ear. “Merry Christmas! Wake uuuup!” It sweetly says.

It’s too bright in the room all of a sudden, burning my eyes beneath my lids. “Mmm nnn.” It’s the only response the sweet voice can pull from me as I roll over and bury my face into my pillow.

“Maybe we should steal her covers and open a window?”

“Hyung,” the sweet voice chuckles. “That’s too mean!” The room is quiet for a moment and I can feel someone lurking over my still body. “We’re going to have to go with plan B.”

The first jab into my back is quick but effective. It sends a sliver of pain through my body that lasts for just a second, but is enough of a spark to cause a twitch from my body and whiny groan from my lips. The next attack is much more unbearable and much more effective. It’s as if fingers are prodding my body from places that shouldn’t be possible.

“Okay!” I cry out, carefully pushing myself up on my elbows while trying to protect myself from any more bony fingers in my side. “I’m… awake!” My words come out in an annoyed huff, but the assaults cease. I ease myself back down with a sigh and slowly open my eyes.

“Good morning!” Hobi coos into my sleepy face. “It took you long enough to open your eyes and greet us!”

All I can do for a moment is stare at him in disbelief. “You’re way too chipper for this time of the day. What time is it anyway?”

“It’s eight,” came Jungkook’s voice from my closet.

“Eight?!” I cried, sitting up in bed and slamming my palms into my comforter. “You guys woke me up at eight on a day I can sleep in?” I looked from my closet door, where Jungkook stood trying to look sweet and innocent, to Hobi still hovering beside my bed with a large grin on his face. “What’s wrong with you two?!”

Hobi lets out a chuckle, but I can’t seem to find the humor in my words that were anything but a joke.

“Look outside,” he replies happily, taking a step back to let me peek out the balcony doors.

“Whoa,” I whispered in surprise. I shove the covers from my lower body and stand up. My fingers instinctively reach for the hem of my shirt and yank it down to meet my pajama pants before wrapping around my body for extra warmth.

Standing at the closed balcony door, I look out over the beautiful winter scene painted before me. Snow sits everywhere as far as the eye can see. The field stretching out by the house is no longer painted brown by the slumbering plants, but is pure, solid white.

Well, it would be if not for the five men running around, chasing after each other. I watch with a smile as Namjoon runs after Jin with a mound of snow in his hand, but instead of catching up with him, slips and lands face first in the fluffy ice. A laugh is stifled behind fingers on my lips at the sight.

Something warm plops onto my shoulders and I look to see one of my warmest coats draped over my pajama top.

“It’s time to get you dressed warmly and cute for your fella,” Jungkook whispers as he fumbles with a pair of gloves he’s trying to slide on my hands.

He looks up for a second and though no words are said, it’s clear he can read my mind by the way he stills and his face stiffens just a little.

 _Which one?_ My eyes plead with him.

Jungkook is the only one who could possibly know what I mean by the look. Well, he and one other.

* * *

 

Two weeks ago, I made a mistake. Rather, I committed an act that was a mistake, but my heart still isn’t so sure that’s what it was.

Shortly after the last Purge, Jimin and Jin started working at an overnight job. It would have been fine, if not for the fact that it started to feel like I never saw Jimin anymore. The two come home, Jin cooks breakfast, we all eat and after they retreat to get some sleep. It’s understandable, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me lonely.

My days became filled with outings with Jungkook – apparently my new best friend – and training with Yoongi. I think that’s where the root of all my problems began.

The further apart Jimin and I grew, the closer Yoongi and I got. As if my heart wasn’t already confused, the sudden changes only made it worse.

I don’t remember what led up to that one night, but everything spiraled out of control before I knew it. I had cheated on Jimin with his best friend – who I also have feelings for.

For the last two weeks, I have slept with my door locked, too afraid of letting either of them into my bed, the shame becoming more unbearable each day. Everyone in the house noticed the change. I started hiding more than usual, started leaving the house more often to get out of it and away.

Jungkook approached me first. His invitation to go Christmas shopping was simple enough. It would get me out of the house for a few hours, and it needed to happen anyway. I never thought the truth would spill from my lips over lunch.

Bless him, though. Not once did he come off as judgmental. Not once did he shame me. Instead he sipped his soda quietly and listened.

“Honestly, it’s not hard to see you care for both of them,” he’d told me. “You need to figure out where your heart truly lies. As much as people online joke about things like this, you can’t have both. It wouldn’t be fair to any of you.”

And I knew he was right. I never thought I could have both, not in that sense, but I never imagined making the decision would be this hard.

“You’ll figure it out,” Jungkook whispers, careful to not be overheard by Hobi.

* * *

 

He slides the gloves on my fingers and helps me pull on my jacket.

“Hurry up!” Hobi whines with a bounce at the door. “It’s all going to melt!”

The three of us hurry out of the house and into the field. Hobi takes off across the yard without hesitation. I pull my coat tighter around my body and look off at the others after Jungkook leaves me to go play.

A smile stretches across my lips despite the cold. It felt like a lifetime ago when we all had fun like this. Laughter filled the air and snow flew left and right.

A snowball flew past me. “Sorry!” Taehyung called after it.

The apology was enough to catch the attention of the other boys. All eyes were on me for the first time since I’d come outside.

“Oh!” Jimin called excitedly and ran quickly toward me. “When did you come out?” he asked sweetly.

I looked at him and forced a smile on my lips despite the way my stomach churned when he approached.

“Jungkook and Hobi came to get me. They wanted to make sure I got to see the snow in case it melts quickly.”

Jimin’s hand stretched out and gently tugged at the beanie on my head, making sure it covered my ears properly. As he did, my eyes trailed away and found Yoongi’s. There was pain in his eyes and I could tell we were in the same boat.

I cursed myself internally. I should have talked to him after it happened. We should have worked it out and been honest with Jimin, but instead, I ran away.

“I’ve missed you lately.” Jimin’s voice is just above a whisper as his fingers brush against my cold, rosy cheek. “You’ve been sleeping with your door locked, so I can’t crawl in bed with you in the mornings anymore. Did something happen?”

Fear and worry consumed me. What if he knew? He could have figured it out. He wasn’t stupid by any means. What if I blurted it out now? What would happen? Would he forgive us? Would he hate us? Would he forgive me and blame Yoongi?

“Who’s hungry?” Jin called across the yard. “Let’s go in for breakfast and afterward we can exchange gifts.”

A cheer erupted from Taehyung who ran past the rest of us through the doors.

Relief rushed through me. Never had I been more thankful for a perfectly timed interruption. Jimin draped his arm over my shoulders and we went inside together.

After breakfast, we all sat around the living room. Jimin plopped down on one side of me, and much to my surprise, Yoongi took the other side after handing me a mug of hot cocoa made by Jin. I thanked him with a forced smile but our eyes never met.

Gifts were passed out from beneath the tree one by one. Our piles grew and once Namjoon was finished playing Santa, we all dove into the pile of boxes and bags.

Halfway through my pile, I picked up a slender box. I pulled off the top to reveal a nice black leather jacket. I unfolded it and looked at it a little confused.

“I bought you that jacket so you can give Yoongi his back. I thought it was about time you had your own and not his,” Jimin said with a smile beside me. His grin was nothing short of self-praise. You could tell he was proud of his gift, but I couldn’t have felt worse.

“Thank you,” I whispered, trying to sound genuinely grateful despite wanting to cry from the pain in my heart.

He went back to his gifts and I sat for a moment trying to come up with a plan. In the end, I just reached over and picked up the gift I’d gotten yoongi and slipped it behind my back. As soon as my gifts were opened and thanks exchanged, I scooped up my haul, and Yoongi’s gift, and retreated to my room.

Dropping everything, I fell face forward into my bed and let out a soft cry. I would have let real tears trail down my face if not for the knock on my door. It only took seconds for me to jolt up and straighten myself up. I plastered the fakest smile on my face and opened the door, surprised to see Yoongi standing on the other side.

“I… uh…” he hesitantly started, running his fingers through the hair at the back of his head. “Can I come in? I promise it’ll only be a moment.”

I was reluctant after everything that’d happened between us, but what could possibly happen with a house full of awake people?

I stepped aside and he entered quietly, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

“I wanted to give you your gift in private,” he shyly mumbled as he stretched out the small black box toward me.

Swallowing the lump forming in my throat, I carefully took the box and clicked open the lid. A small gasp left me as I fingered the silver arrow necklace.

“It looks just like—“

“Like this?” he finished for me, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt to show me the arrow tattoo I’d always admired when patching him up.

I pulled the necklace from the box and held it beside the tattoo on his forearm. It was a spitting image when putting aside the color differences. The arrow ran right through a mini compass, making a strange sort of cross shape when it was all said and done. It was meant to symbolize always finding one’s way to one’s intended target, he had once told me.

Tears swelled in my eyes and without an exchange of words, he gently pulled the necklace from my fingers. My hair was brushed gently over my shoulder as he pulled the chain around my neck and clasped it shut. The cool metal fell against my skin. The length was just right to hide beneath my shirt, understandably so. The last thing either of us wanted was anyone thinking it was a couple’s gift.

The thought was enough to make me laugh bitterly.

“What?” He asked softly.

Only then did I realize how close he was, close enough to tickle my ear with his breath. My breath caught in my throat as I looked up at him for a moment, our gazes locking on one another.

“I… I…” My eyes squeezed shut and I shook my head slightly, trying to get the fuzzies out of my brain. “I got you something too.”

I picked up the box and handed it to him. “I didn’t want you to open it in front of anyone else. You’ll surely understand why when you open it.”

He tore the paper off the box quietly and pulled open the lid. From within he pulled out a black leather jacket, similar to the one Jimin had gifted me.

“Wha—Is this…”

“I… Well… I wanted to get you a new one since I kind of made your old one my own. I… I wanted to keep it for a little longer,” I mumbled under my breath. A blush painted across my cheeks and I looked at the floor.

It was in that moment that I began to realize which direction my heart was going. I loved Jimin. I truly did, but in that moment I realized it was always Yoongi. From the start it had been him.

A sigh danced from his lips and before I could argue, his arms found me and pulled me to his chest in an embrace.

“We’ll… We’ll figure all of this out. I promise. We’ll figure out the least painful way for all of us.”

My eyes closed and buried my face in his chest. His promise filled me with appreciation. It wasn’t a declaration of breaking Jimin’s heart. It was a promise that somehow, we would all come out of this okay. There had to be a way. He wasn’t staking me as his own or pushing away Jimin. He was leaving it up to me again, letting me decide which way everything should go.

His hand stroked the back of my head for a moment before we pulled away and walked toward the door. His jacket had been put back into the box under his arm and my necklace was hidden beneath my shirt.

“Thank you,” I whispered genuinely to him.

He nodded and I turned the knob to let him out. Only, he never made it out of the room. There on the other side, with his hand raised to knock, stood Jimin, looking just as surprised as we were, and more confused than I’d ever seen him.

“What… What’s going on?” he asked, looking between us.

Yoongi and I exchanged defeated glances—glances that said Jimin deserved to know the truth.


	13. Chapter 11

“I don’t like this.” Jin mumbled his thoughts from where he stood at the edge of the garage. Blankets of this fog swirled around his ankles, threatening to swallow him whole.

A sigh traveled from his left as Namjoon crossed his arms thoughtfully over his chest. “I don’t either,” he began, hesitating before finishing his thought. “But we have to go. We’ve dealt with worse.” Though, the look on his face said he didn’t quite believe the statement he’d given. “We just need to be on our toes and keep an extra eye out.”

The tall man turned around and left Jin staring out worriedly into the gray curtain that covered our home and faced Jimin and Yoongi.

“Your group faces the hardest challenge. You’re not in a four wheeled vehicle and the bikes will be loud,” he addressed Yoongi.

The man nearby shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem nonchalant about the whole situation.

“It’s as you said, we’ve faced worse. It’s not our first time going out there. I won’t lie, it will be more dangerous than it normally is, but I believe we’ll be okay.”

It was with a sigh that shook his whole body that Namjoon nodded his head and proceeded to finish the preparations for his group, leaving the three of us to do our own work.

With the conversation finished, I began to fill my quiver with bolts. After more training, I’d been upgraded from a bow to a crossbow. As if I needed to feel like a monster killing badass. It had proven helpful when Yoongi and I managed our tricks on the bike. It was easier to use, easier to aim and felt like it had way more power.

“It has nothing to do with that, man! She needs to ride with me. That’s the way we trained and how we should go out there tonight. You’ll fuck everything up forcing her to ride with you with the conditions the way they are right now. We have to do what’s familiar.”

Yoongi’s barely whispered words reached me, making my hands still and my ears prick up.

“Tch,” Jimin’s tongue clicked back. “Okay. That’s a great excuse to get closer to her now that we’re split.”

A scoffing laugh followed but before Yoongi could butt back, I stood up and walked between the quarreling two.

“I’ll ride by myself if you two don’t shut the fuck up. I am my own person. I can take care of myself now. I don’t need either of you and if you don’t stop acting like one of you is going to win me like some trophy, I’ll request to be moved to Jungkook’s group.”

With a humph over my shoulder, I walked away and stood beside Jin who was still standing at the mouth of the garage looking out at nothing.

“Jin?” I whispered after settling the flame in my chest that had sparked to life.

“I don’t like it,” he whispered again. “I know we’ve dealt with many surprises and challenges along the way, but I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.”

His eyes remained locked on the fog as if his gaze could break it apart and clear it away. A shiver ran down my spine and I reached out a hand, placing it gently on his arm. My mouth opened to reassure him that it was probably just paranoia but the words never came.

“Let’s move out,” Namjoon called, followed by the sounds of doors shutting and engines roaring to life.

Jin and I shared a quick look and I noticed he was staring hard at me, almost as if he was trying to memorize my features.

“It’ll be okay, Jin,” I whispered as we separated and walked to our groups, but he never did give me that reassuring smile he always did when we all left.

I turned my attention to the two I would be working with for the night. Their gazes watched me expectantly and I couldn’t help but sigh in frustration.

“I’m riding with Yoongi,” I told Jimin, looking him square in the eyes before turning on Yoongi himself. “Not because I favor you over Jimin but because this is how we’ve trained.” I moved to pull my gloves over my hands and my quiver over my shoulder. “What Jin said has me on edge now,” I added with a mumble.

The truth had come out to Jimin Christmas night. It had been rough but for the best. We had tried to work things out after a few days with some distance but it became increasingly difficult for me to deny the feelings I had for both men. In the end, I’d made the decision to end things because the last thing I’d ever wanted to do was hurt anyone.

I hadn’t expected for the decision to cause more tension and turmoil between the two friends.

My only hope was that they could focus. It was going to be a dark and difficult night ahead of us. The last thing we would need is an argument between the two of them getting us all killed.

* * *

“I don’t like this.”

Jin’s words fell out of my lips as the three of us stood at the end of the street that should have looked very familiar. Instead, it was shrouded in gray-white, the light from the street lights giving off an eerie glow.

The fog had only thickened the further we’d driven and by the time we got into town, it was completely unrecognizable. The curb that should have only been a few feet away, was nowhere to be seen and the buildings hid like daunting caves with beasts hiding inside. Their shadows danced in the glowing light of the orbs that should have had legs attached but instead, floated mistily above us like UFOs.

A shiver ran down my spine once again as Jin’s haunting words from earlier echoed in my ears.

_“I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.”_

“We should keep moving,” Yoongi whispered, but his words felt like quickly swallowed screams in my ears.

Noises seemed to echo off the clouds around us but on the same token, they disappeared quicker than it seemed possible. Everything about the night felt wrong and I was beginning to wonder if Jin had seen some sort of premonition before we’d left.

“If we stay in one spot too long, we’ll be easy targets. Not that anyone can really see well in this mess.”

His voice shook just slightly and I dared a glance at his face. His eyes danced left and right in a complicated waltz, looking for something but never finding it. Even the fearless leader of our trio, the one who always had a mask over his emotions and a comeback for every whip was lost in this situation.

Neither Jimin nor I argued. Instead, we silently took our places on our bikes and began to slowly drive along, listening for something, anything.

It felt like we’d driven for hours before a shriek finally cut through the fog, but it was impossible to know where it was coming from. Jimin looked left, Yoongi right, and I whirled around, staring up and down, anywhere possible.

The longer the scream went on, the more it drove us mad until I knelt down beside the bike with my hands over my ears.

“Make it stop,” I whispered to no one.

If only I had opened my eyes faster.

The arrow lodged in the ground before me in an unusually silent manner, but the wind it’d brought with it jolted me to my feet. In an instant, my crossbow was in my grasp and my gaze looking in the direction it’d come from. A dark spot slowly began to grow in the fog as it walked slowly toward us and I realized I could see it because it was backed by what felt like the lights from a million vehicles.

“We have to go,” I pulled Yoongi and Jimin back to the bikes. It only took a second for them to realize what was happening and we all sprang into action.

Instead of hoping on behind Yoongi, I sat before him, my legs straddling him and my arms looping around him. It wasn’t the most comfortable of positions but we had learned to make it work.

The bikes roared to life and Jimin took off ahead of us. We began to follow, my bolt aimed at the fog behind, but I couldn’t make out anything. I knew we were behind followed thanks to the lights glittering behind us, but I couldn’t figure out where a tire or a body could be.

I chanced a glance over my shoulder, hoping we were headed somewhere safe we could hide and wait for them to pass. Instead of safety, my eyes saw something glisten for just a split second on the ground.

“Yoongi, turn,” I told him with fear laced in my words. “YOONGI TURN!”

But he noticed too late. Jimin’s bike took the pain first, his tires popping as they ran over the spikes. We quickly followed.

The bike kicked us from it and sent our bodies soaring through the air. My crossbow flew from my hands as I wrapped my arms tightly around Yoongi’s middle and he held me close to his chest, his arms moving to the back of my head in an attempt to protect it. It felt as if we were in the air for minutes before we hit the ground with a thud and rolled away from each other.

Black spots danced in my eyes as I tried to blink away the pain that was consuming me whole. Yoongi. Jimin. Were they okay? We had to get up and keep moving, but as I tried to pull myself up, a scream echoed in my head and darkness covered my eyes. I have to save them.

Boots crunched as footsteps grew nearer.

“Well, well,” came a cool and almost handsome sounding voice. It was deep and smooth, easy to listen to and something I would have wanted to capture on tape. 

The footsteps stopped and when the voice spoke again it was much nearer to me. “So you’re the girl I’ve heard about,” he cooed, prodding me with what felt like the end of a stick. “You are pretty. No wonder my old friends took to quarrelling over you. If only you’d been around a few years ago. You probably would have made it so much easier to win Jimin over to our side.”

I blinked open my eyes into slits, blinking several more times, trying to open them wider and longer each time, but I could feel my consciousness fading out. His face was slender and his jaw sharp. His dark hair fell over his forehead, parted to the side. His teeth were perfectly aligned and glistened white but I couldn’t figure out how they were glistening in the fog. He was just as handsome as his voice, but I could tell his heart was ugly. I knew it was because this had to be the leader of the Eliminators.

He had to be the gang’s old friend I’d heard about.

“I should really just kill all three of you right here, right now, but that wouldn’t be so fun, would it? No, no it wouldn’t. I tell you what…” he hesitated and I could tell in between blinks that he was glancing between two things. “I’ll let you pick. Doesn’t that sound fun? You pick which one gets to stay and live.” He stood up and stepped back, his arms crossing over his chest.

I forced myself to roll over onto my stomach, telling myself to find a weapon and stab him or shoot him or maim him at least, but all I could manage was a small crawl forward.

“Don’t leave them waiting! Surely you don’t want both of them to die.”

I didn’t want either of them to die, but I was in no condition to do anything about it. I was quickly fading and had no strength left.

To my left I saw Jimin, his arms splayed open in a vulnerable pose. Blood stained his cheek and forehead but I could barely see his chest rising and falling. His face was wrinkled in pain.

Yoongi’s body was to my right, the pressure being applied to his stomach, his face turned toward mine, his hand reaching out toward me as if he was trying to get to me before he’d blacked out.

I slowly looked left and right several times.

“Who do you choose?” the man called again, getting more impatient by the minute.

Jimin was too far away. I knew I wouldn’t make it to him before passing out. Besides, I couldn't do anything without Yoongi. All my training had been with him. I was stronger with him than Jimin.

Tears swarmed my eyes as I used the last of my strength to stretch out my hand. The edges of my fingers curled around those of the hand to my right but my gaze remained on Jimin as I collapsed into the ground.

Darkness began to swallow my vision but before I completely faded, I watched as they scooped up Jimin’s body and carried him away.


	14. Chapter 12

“It looks like they didn’t follow us,” a strong voice whispered into a wire at his chest. “Let’s plan to meet at the agreed upon place as soon as possible. Remember, keep your eyes and ears open. Stay safe.”

 

There was a scratch of sound before a quick roger that echoed into his ear and his fingers released his shirt. The man looked up at the crew of three who had accompanied him. Two watched him with accomplished eyes, while one was still stationed by the window of the apartment they’d arrived at. 

 

“You all need to see this,” he whispered to the glass, his warm breath creating an misty sheen on the window that he quickly wiped away. 

 

The man reached the window in what felt like two steps and leaned toward it. The street below was lit by street lights and headlights. Though the fog made it difficult to see details, they could make out the shadows of two bikes racing toward them with a band of what he could only imagine to be trucks and vans giving chase. 

 

The bikes neared the building but never made it. Instead, the bodies atop them were flung into the street. Initially, he thought there were only two, but one shadowy mass broke apart until three of them were stuck on the road. 

 

“We should go help,” came a soft voice to his left. He could feel his companion moving to go out, but his hand gripped his shirt and he shook his head. 

 

“I want to help, I really do, but there’s four of us and who knows how many of them in those vehicles.”

 

And sure enough, as the chasers made their descent on the three, he could see rivers of shadows pouring out and backing a lone figure near the front -- the leader. He kept his hand fisted on his friend’s shirt as they continued to silently watch.

 

Frustration boiled up within him. What was happening? All they could see were the dark masses and it appeared the leader was simply standing there. No, that didn’t make sense. He was conversing with the one body on the ground that had moved. But what was he saying? 

 

“Open the window,” he whispered. He could feel eyes blink at him in surprise and confusion. “Open it!” he barked again in a hushed tone. 

 

“Surely you don’t want them both to die,” they picked up as the cool night are drifted into the apartment. “Who do you choose?” 

 

He stepped back confused at what they’d heard. Three bodies, one choice. He turned and closed the window before he looked to the other three. 

 

“Get ready to help. We don’t know what the situation will be, but we need to get down there.”

 

There was no argument as they nodded and grabbed their weapons. The quiet voice from before was even quieter now as he reached over and slung a bag full of medical supplies over his shoulder. 

 

The four walked out and into the nearby alley. They hid within the shadows, going unnoticed by the gathering of shadow people who were either too distracted by their leader’s scene, or too blinded by the fog to notice the group of guys who were just feet away. The answer came to them quickly enough. 

 

Engines that had been humming idly growled back to life as doors slammed and voices hooted and hollered. One man walked dangerously close with something in his hands. A body. As they passed, the fog lifted just slightly and he was able to catch a fleeting glimpse of the limp form.

 

“Jimin,” he whispered. 

 

Beside him, a pair of eyes widened in shock and surprise. “You saw him too?” 

 

He nodded. 

 

They watched as the vehicles began to move away and he pulled his shirt back to his lips again. “Cancel the previous plans. We’ve got a convoy moving in your direction. Give chase but in secret. There are too many for just the three of you. Find out where they’re going and get an idea of body count. Meet us at the park on 6th and main. Again, do not engage. Stealth. I know that’s hard for some of you but there’s a more important matter right now than picking a simple fight on Purge night.”

 

A reply of confirmation was sent to his ear and as soon as the four were sure the others were gone, they ran through the fog to the bodies on the ground. A girl and…

 

“Yoongi. Damn it,” he mumbled. He instantly regretted not helping sooner, but even for a friend he knew their fight would have been hopeless. 

 

“Both of them have a pulse,” his quiet friend spoke up. “I need to bandage her head,” he said with a nod to the female. 

 

“Not on the street,” the leader called, feeling less chipper about the night than he had just moments ago. “We have to move them. Let’s get into the treeline of the park for added coverage.” 

 

Once more, no one argued and while the other two scooped Yoongi up together, he leaned down and cradled the girl’s body to his chest. With glances left and right, they moved from the street into the trees. 

 

“Let me see her,” his friend anxiously whispered to him. 

 

He set her down in the dead grass and pulled off his coat. He draped it over her body for added warmth and looked over his shoulder at his old friend who was still unconscious. What trouble had he gotten into? Why had they taken Jimin? 

 

“She took a good hit to the head, but I think she’ll be alright,” came a voice from the ground beside him. He looked down to watch as the sunshine from their group masked his brightness with a worried frown. He’d done a good job bandaging the girl’s head where blood had decorated it moments ago, but there was nothing more he could do. 

 

“Great,” he whispered in a form of praise. “What about Yoongi?”

 

“He’s coming to!” someone responded a little too excitedly. “Yoongi? Yoongi, can you hear me?”

 

“You’re supposed… to call… me Suga… in public, you dumbass,” came a breathy response, followed by the slightly of lip twitches into a smirk. 

 

“I think he’s fine,” came a chuckle of response. 

 

The two knelt down before Yoongi who looked at them both in confusion and relief. 

 

“I would say it’s great to see you guys again, but it’s never great to see JB and Mark’s faces.”

 

* * *

 

My head. Why did it hurt so bad? Why was it throbbing so much? Is this what death feels like? Am I dying? Panic surged through my body as I tried to move, but realized I was in some sort of dreamlike state. It was dark and quiet and extremely cold. Am I alone? Where are the guys?

 

Warmth blossomed around the coldness, easing the anxiety I was beginning to feel. Yoongi? I could feel hands on my face, something wet swiping across my skin, making the spot feel icy, before it was warmed again by something dry. The fingers were gentle as they danced along my skin. Jimin.

 

Jimin had always been more gentle than Yoongi in many ways. His words, his actions, his smile. It was graceful and smooth and nothing but gentle. 

 

Yoongi was like the warmth, taking over instantly without any warning. He was bold and strong and never cared what others thought, he just did what he felt was best for others. 

 

I should have never picked. I should have never said the hurtful words that had come from my lips before we’d left. I needed both of them in very different ways. We were a trio. Two of us without the other felt incomplete and wrong. We should have all died together. Then again, I knew the Eliminators would have never allowed that. They had made their decision before it was even offered. Had I chosen to let us die, they would have either killed us and taken Jimin, or left us to live and taken Jimin anyway. Their target had always been Jimin. This was just a twisted, sick game now. 

 

Jimin. They had taken him. Jimin was gone. Sweet, caring, graceful Jimin. 

 

But what had happened to them? 

 

My head screamed again and I felt my throat tighten as a soft groan echoed from it. Voices. I heard voices. 

 

“Yoongi?” I croaked hoping it was his voices and not someone looking to end me. 

 

More voices. I couldn’t make them out, but they were there. My fingers curled as another pain stabbed my head. 

 

“It’s okay,” came an unfamiliar voice, cutting through the others and finding its way to me. It was soft and sweet. It sounded like summer and sunshine and hope. How a person could manages to make their voice sound so promising and sure, I would never know, but in this moment, I knew it would be okay. 

 

Despite the pain, my eyes blinked open slowly. Around me, blurred faces began to take shape. I knew none of them. 

 

My eyes shot up and I moved to scuttle away but I couldn’t. My fingers swept the earth around me, but I could find no weapon, just an unfamiliar jacket that had been blanketed over my body. 

 

“Who are you?” I finally managed to spit out. 

 

“It’s okay,” came a calm, familiar sound. “They’re friends.”

 

“Yoongi?” 

 

He staggered a bit as he finally took his feet and came to squat beside me. His fingers brushed aside my hair to look at my head. They wrapped around my jaw to move my face around so he could check every nook and cranny. 

 

“They’re my friends,” he finally spoke again. “Old friends I haven’t seen in awhile, but friends. They won’t hurt us.”

 

He plopped down tiredly beside me with a sigh. A finger stretched out and pointed. “Jinyoung, Mark, their leader JB, and their medic, Youngjae. He’s the one who bandaged you up.”

 

“Hi,” Youngjae said with a small smile and wave. 

 

So this was the voice I had heard. His was the voice that had lulled me from my darkness and brought me back here. Even his smile was infectious, as small as it was. 

 

“Thank you,” I finally mumbled, receiving a nod in return. 

 

“Do you remember what happened? Do you remember the Eliminators and the wreck? And…” he trailed off, clearly not able to bring himself to finish.

 

“And I sent Jimin to his death,” I finished for him. 

 

“You didn’t,” he argued back. “They would have filled us if you hadn’t chosen. They would have just finished it if you hadn’t agreed to play their game. As wrong as it is, your decision has given us a chance to stay alive, and a chance to get Jimin back. You didn’t send him to his death.”

 

He sounded so sure. The fact that he and the others had once been friends with the Eliminators’ leader, must have been what backed his sureness, because I certainly didn’t feel that way. I was positive Jimin was already dead and his body discarded on the side of the street somewhere. 

 

“I had guys following them,” JB piped up. “They’re on their way here now with the information. Just stay put and we’ll figure this out.”

 

He definitely was a leader. He reminded me of Namjoon, calm and collected in the middle of a crisis. Where he had thought to have the gang tailed, I would have been running around in circles, flailing my arms like one of those dancing air dolls car dealerships had out in their lots. 

 

The others moved away to give Yoongi and I some time after Youngjae handed me a bottle of water and a couple of aspirin. Yoongi dropped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me into a side hug, letting my head rest on his shoulder. 

 

“I promise we’ll find him and get him back. None of this is your fault. He and I should have been more focused tonight instead of being stupid and fighting like children. We’ll get him back. We have to.”

 

I knew his words were more of a promise to himself than to me. As worried as I was, I couldn’t begin to fathom how Yoongi must feel. Jimin was his best friend. They’d been friends for so long. I had messed that up. Despite Yoongi saying it wasn’t my fault, I couldn’t help but continue to feel like it was. 

 

“You’re right,” I softly mumbled out. “We will get him back. I have to make right what I’ve wronged. I have to make sure you two make up. I have make sure Jimin lives. Otherwise, he won’t know what I said earlier to you both is a lie.”

 

I moved away from Yoongi’s arm to look him directly in the face. “I’m sorry, Yoongi. I should have never said I didn’t need you or Jimin. You both have done so much for me. You both are the reason I am still alive. I should have never said that.”

 

He pulled me toward him in a hug again. “It’s okay,” he whispered in my ear. “I know. It’s okay.”

 

We stayed that way for what felt like hours before we wear the sound of motors nearing and the hushed voices of the others. I instinctively reached for my weapon that wasn’t there before shrinking back into Yoongi, feeling helpless like the time he and Jimin had found me. 

 

Everyone fell quiet and hid as footsteps crunched on grass cautiously. A whistle. A sigh of relief. 

 

“It’s them,” JB called to us. 

 

Three guys walked into sight and raised a hand up. 

 

“Yoongi. Miss,” greeted one.

 

“This is Jackson. He’s the leader of this trio. The other two are BamBam and Yugyeom. They’re with us. They have information,” JB explained to me. 

 

“We followed them back to an old, rundown looking warehouse on the outskirts of town. The old factory building. Jimin’s alive,” Jackson started.

 

At the confirmation of Jimin’s survival, I felt my back stiffen as I sat straighter. I was desperate for more information. How did he look? Was he really hurt? Were they beating him? 

 

“They had him bound at the hands and tape over his mouth. He walked in with little fight,” he finished as if reading my mind. 

 

I shrank back into my shell. Little fight. Had he already given up? That didn’t sound like the Jimin I knew. 

 

“We wrote down the location,” BamBam added.

 

JB looked from his crew to Yoongi, his eyes serious. “We’ll help. There’s no way you can take them all on alone. They guessed at least twenty target bodies, maybe even thirty. Who knows how many are hidden inside too. You’ll need as many hands as you can get.”

 

Yoongi nodded in thanks and stood up. He borrowed a phone and called Namjoon. “We’re stocking up and going there. We’ve got to get Jimin out.”

 

Though I couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, I knew Namjoon must have agreed. When Yoongi hung up the phone, he extended his hand to me to pull me to my feet. He looked to JB and sighed. “We appreciate any help you can and will give us. We don’t expect you guys to put your lives at risk. The least we can ask for is a ride to our place. After that, if you want to disappear, we’ll remain good friends and no hurt feelings will linger.”

 

JB looked around at his men who stood beside him. None of them backed away. None of them refused. He returned his gaze to Yoongi and grinned. “We’re in this for the long haul. We’ll get Jimin out or die trying.”


End file.
